Welcome to China Report's Digital Introduction to the Main Square of JiaYuGuan in Gansu Province.
block the viral pass of Shiguan Xiakou.
Beyond here in the North the rugged ridges of the Heishan form a natural barrier. A wall was built here probably as early as the Han Dynasty some 2000 years ago but the current version dates from the Ming Dynasty and was restored in 1987 AD.
A Satellite image of China and East-Asia, with a super-imposed schematic Map of the location and Path of the Great Wall as constructed during the Reign ofthe Ming Dynasty. Included for reference are City names, geographical features
of landscape, Names and locations of Passes on the Great Wall on the Great Wall of China.
Map of JiaYuGuan Area of Gansu Province
A rough Geographic overview Map of JiaYuGuan City and Area of West Gansu Province. Map depicts main highways and roads, JiaYuGuan Airport, main railway lines, mountains and heights, rivers and Lakes as well as main monuments & landmarks of the City & Area. Locations of the Great Wall of China in the Vicinity are included with Links to Reports with more Photos and background information on each site.
Near the first watchtower north of the Jiayuguan Fort, the main Great Wall departs north-eastwards and it is clearly an older version of the Great Wall than the curtain wall that runs north to south from the Overhanging Great Wall through Jiayuguan to the First Signal Tower. This 'main' Great Wall is identical in construction to the wall found out at Dunhuang, suggesting the Ming only had to build that short stretch at Jiayuguan and the fortress to complete what had been started during the Han Dynasty.
This main wall is only 9 feet wide at the base and 11 feet high, a noticeably less substanial presence than across the pass. Today's tour guides are less able to distinguish between the different wall types, a process not helped by the fairly standardised and romanticised restoration work.
The wall is described as 'overhanging' for no other reason than the fact that it goes up a hillside a few hundred metres to several watch towers. The 'overhanging' bit is all just tourist marketing hype. If you have seen the Great Wall in mountainous areas elsewhere, this is very tame.
The various fake structures, including the simply hideous Disneyland watergate, are a sad reflection of the lack of concern for authentic reconstruction, restoration or preservation here. Before anyone blames the Tourism Authority in this case, note that those charged with managing this area are, in fact, under the city's Cultural Heritage authority.
It may seem odd that the stretch of wall from Jiayuguan to the Overhanging Great Wall sits at the bottom of the ridge, overlooked by it, but as Aurel Stein pointed out when he visited in July 1907 "that it seemed strange until I realized to what extent the levl of the ridge is broken by steep ravines. Overlooked though the wall is from the plateau crest, it was safe from being commanded in the days of arrows or matchlocks, and there was the supreme advantage of an ample supply of water from springs close at hand." Even today, those springs produce a water supply for the farmers tilling the good soil just inside the wall.JiuQuan Huangnibao Yugur Autonomous Township
Adjacent Map gives direct access to Extende Arm Wall Map by Google Earth.
Map Great Wall China - Layers of Dynasties and Era's
A Schematic Map of China and East-Asia, with a super-imposed schematic of the various layers of the Great Wall of China.
Features Pre-Qin Dynasty Wall, Qin Dynasty Wall, Western Han Great Wall of China, the (Northern) Jin Dynasty Great Wall and finally the Ming Dynasty Great Wall as mainly remains today.
Main Features are Names and locations location of Passes on the Great Wall of China, outer layer and inner layer. Includes Shanhai Pass, Huangya Guan (Yellow Cliff) Pass, JiYunGuan Pass, Ningwu Guan Pass, Pingxin Guan, YaMen Guan Pass, Pian Guan Pass, JiaYuGuan pass, YuMen Guan Pass (Jade Gate) and Yang Guan Pass.
Further included for reference are City names, geographical features of landscape and main mountain ranges. Updates occur several times a year adding new pass locations and photo-virtual tours of Passes throughout China.
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Sound Bonus: Marco Polo- "La Granda Muraglia", by Rondo Venetiano.
