TanPurple

2018-02-01 22:16:59

即使这片地已经被风雨蚀去，即使这片土以已经被沙尘覆盖，但每走过的一个脚印，都埋藏着一段深刻的历史，远处的遗迹，近处的丝绸之路，都述说的过去！

laohaha123

2017-12-09 06:56:16

很荒凉，很宽阔的荒凉，视线所及的只是干净的蓝天下的一段长长矮矮的烽燧遗址，让人不由得问：历史远去之际，尚有几人为昨日怀念？

jameshuang

2018-01-04 21:38:50

This is the 2nd pass of the two most west fortresses (Yuan Guan Pass and Yumen Pass) of the ancient Silk Road. Yuan Guan Pass (陽關) got its name because it is located south of Yumen Pass. Yuan in Chinese means sunny and also means south. It was built at the same time as Yumen Pass by the order of Emperor Wudi (漢武帝) of Han dynasty. It was used for consolidating the border defense as well as developing the remote western region (西域). Yuan Guan Pass is 80 km (50 mi) away from Dunhuang city in the southwest region. In 629, the famous Xuan Zang (玄奘), a great Chinese Buddhist monk pilgrimaged to India in search of Buddhist scriptures, and returned via Yuan Guan 16 years later. Today most of the Yuan Guan was eroded and buried under sand. It is impossible to recover with current technology. Chinese government lists it as a protection area. The only remain is the broken beacon tower.We came here after visiting Yumen Pass in the late afternoon. A private owned Yangguan Museum was built onsite based on the old Yang Guan of the Han Dynasty. Yangguan Museum first opened to the public in 2003 with exhibitions showing the history, culture, weapons, buildings etc. of the Yng Guan. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside the exhibition hall. While waiting for the guide (included in the ticket), we went to the top of the city wall and saw several defense and attack weapons on display. The tour also included a ride on a small tour bus to the mountain side of the Yang Guan ruins. It also provided us a good chance to see the broken beacon tower. After the tour bus dropped us off, it took us few minutes walking to the site where the original Yang Guan was built. Once we were on top of the hill, we realized why the Yang Guan was built here. There was nothing but endless desert and it was a good defense spot.Due to the climate and underground springs, this area also is a hometown of tasty grapes. We actually visited a small village (二墩村) in the middle of desert in between Yumen Pass and Yang Guan. The day we visited was in the middle of the grapes harvest season. We bought 4 bunches of grapes and they were delicious. I think it might be the low humidity that causes the high concentration of sugar. We also found there were many huge barn-like buildings used for making raisins utilizing the nature desert climate. Don’t forget to taste those juicy and sweet fruits when you visit Dunhuang.

684feliciab

2017-11-22 14:06:31

The ruins and remnants of the Han Dynasty strongholds made significant marks on the ancient Silk Road.

ariellek_bj

2018-01-14 18:33:11

What you see today as Yangguan Pass -- a 70km drive southwest of Dunhuang -- is actually the ruins of a beacon tower indicating the possible location of the original gate nearby. The original Yangguan was first built in 150BC and has not been preserved through the century. No one knows where is the exact location of the real Yangguan Pass. Therefore, what you're paying RMB 50 admission ticket to see is just the sandy beacon tower at the top of the hill -- everything else is basically newly built in modern times. It takes a lot of imagination to understand the former splendor and poetic meaning of this place. In the Han dynasty through to Tang dynasty, this is one of the two gates where traders, Buddhist pilgrims and other travelers have to go through in order to leave China and head towards India or the Middle East. In Tang dynasty, the Buddhist monk Xuanzhuang, popularized in the novel "Journey to the West" (aka The Monkey King), returned from India via the Yangguan Gate carrying important Buddhist texts and translations. I'm told that on the south of the hilltop, the locals call this the "antique beach" because over the years, many pottery, jewelry, coins from ancient times, as well as the remnants of houses etc. were found in this area. In reality, I didn't see anything but barren land on the southern slopes of the hill. Today, what you find is a very basic museum describing the Han dynasty (when Yangguan was first built) -- people's lives, what weapons the military used for defence, what the farms looked like, etc. All very basic things you can see in major Chinese museums, if you have visited Beijing's museums you can absolutely skip this part. If you're visiting in the summer and if you have children with you, there are war games here you might like to take advantage of. But I visited during low season, when everything was practically closed down, so I am not sure of the prices. If you pay RMB 20 to take an electric vehicle up the hill and back (essential for visiting during the summer), then you are provided with a tour guide for free. However, if you choose to walk up the hill yourself, the tour guide will not walk up with you. Since I was visiting in mid-February when it was still -5 degrees C during the day, the site had no other tourists and everything looked deserted. I was told the scenery is great during the summer. Perhaps when you visit, you'll see what I missed!