Jiayuguan
-Gordon
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The Silk Road Day 4:
Dunhuang, Jiayuguan
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| Entrance |
After two days visiting my favorite place Dunhuang, we took the train to the very special place Jiayuguan. As we all know, Jiayuguan Pass is the west ending point for the Great Wall of China since Ming Dynasty. Do you know where does its east starting point? Yes, Shanhaiguan Pass in Beijing! We went to Shanhaiguan Pass two years ago. So I was so waiting to see this Jiayuguan.
Jiayuguan sits in the valley of two very high mountains, Mount Qilian and Mount Hishan. In places like that, people have to go through the Jiayuguan to be able to pass through. In the ancient time, anyone who wanted to climb the mountain was crazy. They have no car and no road! This special position makes Jiayuguan become an important pass during the Silk Road.
The emperors built the Great Wall over at Jiayuguan as early as in Han Dynasty （202 B.C. to 221 A.D.). The Great Wall in Jiayuguan had benefited significantly the resistance to invaders, the expansion of territories, protecting the Silk Road and developing the economic of the area along it. You can still see some remaining walls today. The Han Dynasty walls are in very poor condition because all that's left is a dirt wall. You can easily tell the difference. The Great Wall from Han Dynasty was built by dirt. And the Great Wall from Ming and Qing Dynasty built by stones.
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| Jiayuguan Pass |
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Replica of the Great Wall
from Han Dynasty
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| A statue |
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| The remaining Great Wall from Han Dynasty |
The emperors built the Great Wall over at Jiayuguan as early as in Han Dynasty （202 B.C. to 221 A.D.). The Great Wall in Jiayuguan had benefited significantly the resistance to invaders, the expansion of territories, protecting the Silk Road and developing the economic of the area along it. You can still see some remaining walls today. The Han Dynasty walls are in very poor condition because all that's left is a dirt wall. You can easily tell the difference. The Great Wall from Han Dynasty was built by dirt. And the Great Wall from Ming and Qing Dynasty built by stones.
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Model of Jiayuguan
天下雄关
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| Cannons and spikes |
There was also a museum. One interesting thing the museum had on display was 4 cannons and a lot of spikes. The spikes main usage were for horses. In the ancient days, the invaders came by horses. When the horses run, they stop on the spikes and fall. They are dead...The invaders had to walk very slowly and facing the shooting of the cannons. The cannons and spikes are perfect defense combination.
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| The Silk Road |
Now, you see so far we've been on the Silk Road, from Xi'an to Lanzhou, to here, to Dunhuang. Even though our sequence was Xi'an, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan. See what is next for our adventures of the Silk Road.
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| Jiayuguan |
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| A statue of horse wagon |
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