The first pier of the Great Wall

--The first pier of the Great Wall is the starting point of the ancient Great Wall. In fact, it is a beacon tower. Now there is only one mound left. The scenic area also includes the Taolai River sliding rope, the natural danger suspension bridge, and the sculpture group of "drunken lying in the sand".

--The most noteworthy is the mother river of Jiayuguan behind the first pier, the Taolai River, which is formed by melting snow on the Qilian Mountains and flows to Jiayuguan. There is a suspension bridge hanging on the Taolai River, which is precipitous and spectacular.

--There are two drop off points for the sightseeing bus in the scenic spot. One is the museum at the west entrance. In the museum, there is a glass viewing platform, through which you can see the river at your feet, and there are slings, so that you can cross the Taolai River in the air. The second point is in the barracks, where you can cross the TaoLai river through the Tiesuo bridge to the other side, and then climb up the hillside to get closer contact with the TaoLai river.

The first pier of the Great Wall

The first pier of the Great Wall, also known as the Taolaihe pier, is a pier at the southernmost end of the Western Great Wall in Jiayuguan, and also a pier at the westernmost end of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty. The first pier of the Great Wall was built by Li Han in 1539. It is 7.5km away from Guancheng in the north. The pier stands on a cliff 56 meters high by the TaoLai river.

Historical development

In the Ming Dynasty, Jiayuguan was under the jurisdiction of "39 piers and abutments in the abdomen, along the border and outside China". There are many piers and abutments in Guannei, which are interwoven with each other and exchange intelligence. The first pier of the Great Wall is the most important pier in Guannan, which is responsible for transmitting the military information of Guannan and Qilian Mountains. There are dock, post horse, post camel, board and lodging, accumulated salary, and a certain number of guards.

The first pier scenic area of the Great Wall has a magnificent natural scenery, with Jiuquan in the East, desert in the west, Jiayu in the north, Qilian in the South and torrential Taolai River in the East. Looking to the south, the mountain peaks are white all year round, reflecting the blue sky, making it more fresh and picturesque. It is the so-called "Yu Shou yuan Xiu and cloud wet, wind sparse forest with dance.". The scenic area is about 3.22 square kilometers. The scenic spots include the first pier of the Great Wall, comprehensive service area, Talai River sliding rope, Talai Inn, natural danger suspension bridge, "drunken lying on the battlefield" sculpture group, "Chinese dragon forest" and so on. The first pier of the Great Wall was built by Li Han in 1539. It is 7.5km away from Guancheng in the north. The pier stands on a cliff 56 meters high by the TaoLai river. Luo Zhewen, a famous expert on the Great Wall, once had a vivid chant about its majestic danger: "in Jiayuguan, it's hard to draw majestic danger, the mound fortress looks at each other from afar, the Great Wall is connected with mountains, and it's hard to climb ape arms.". On the Great Wall line of Ming Dynasty, there are countless piers and abutments, which are as dense as stars. The first pier of Jiayuguan Great Wall echoes with the "old dragon head" on the coast of Shanhaiguan and Bohai Sea in Hebei Province, which together constructs the head and tail of the "dragon" of the great wall of China and achieves the reputation of the "dragon" of the Chinese nation. If the Great Wall is a monument of the Chinese nation, then the first pier of the Great Wall is the place where this monument rises. The residual height of this pier is about 10 meters, and its bottom is irregular square, with a width of 14 meters. The interior is still square, with a length and width of 6 meters. It is made of rammed loess with a thickness of 10-20cm. The inscription of "the first pier of the Great Wall" was inscribed by the late general of the West Route Army Wei. The handwriting is elegant, free and easy, beautiful and meaningful.

Relying on the development and construction of the first pier of the Great Wall, the scenic spot has a magnificent natural scenery. In the East is the urban area of Jiayuguan with numerous buildings, in the west is the boundless desert Gobi, in the north is connected with the magnificent Jiayuguan, in the south is the rolling Qilian snow mountain, and at the foot is the Taolai River originated from Qilian Mountain. The first pier of the Great Wall scenic spot, with the connotation of the Great Wall culture and the Silk Road culture, and based on the Gobi scenery and northwest folk customs, is a good place for sightseeing, exploration, leisure, entertainment, nostalgic travel and film and television scenes.

building structure

Lu is famous for its mountain. In 1372, the Great Wall was built. At that time, Feng Sheng, the general of the Ming Dynasty, saw the dangerous terrain in the northern foot of the Jiayu mountain. He chose it as the first pass in the west of the river and began to build a city and set up a pass. After more than 100 years of expansion, a relatively complete defense system was formed. During the Hongzhi period of Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent Turpan's eastward invasion, it was rebuilt. This pass is magnificent, known as "the first pass in the world".

There are many passes along the Great Wall, of which two are the largest: Shanhaiguan in the East and Jiayuguan in the West. The latter pass through the former, so Jiayuguan is the largest pass on the great wall and the largest pass in China. However, when Jiayuguan was first built, it was just a 6-meter-high Earth City, covering an area of 2500 square meters. The total area of Guancheng is 33.500 square meters, several times larger than the original. It is composed of outer city, inner city and urn city. The perimeter of Guan City is 733 meters, while the perimeter of inner city is 640 meters, which is the original size. The inner city is wide in the West and narrow in the East, slightly trapezoidal in shape. The city is 9 meters high, with two doors of "Guanghua gate" and "Rouyuan gate" in the East and West. Outside the gate, there are urn cities, symmetrical towers, three floors, three eaves and five rooms, surrounded by porches, single eaves on the top of the mountain, 17 meters high. There are turrets in the four corners of the city, enemy towers in the middle of the South and North walls, and three rooms on the first floor with front porches. There is a horse road to the top of the city in the north of the two gates. There is an official well in the middle of Guancheng. The old pavilion has been abandoned. A convex wall was built outside the west gate to form a Luo city, which is the outer city. The outer city is 2.7 meters higher than the inner city. The gate in the middle of the outer city is engraved with three characters "Jiayuguan". The original tower on the top of the gate is the same as the second floor in the East and the west, and the third floor is lined with the East and the West. The castle was destroyed in 1924. Luocheng brick in the west, East, South, north earth wall, connecting the Great Wall. There is a city outside the city, and Diemen attaches great importance to the city. There are Wenchang Pavilion, Guandi temple and theater outside dongweng City, and there is a guerrilla Yamen in the north of the city, which are all Qing Dynasty buildings. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Guancheng has been repaired and reinforced many times, and it is still well preserved.

geographical position

Jiayuguan, the first pier of the Great Wall, is located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, 98 ° 17 ′ E and 39 ° 47 ′ n, 5 km west of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province. It is the first pass at the western end of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty and the traffic hub of the ancient "Silk Road". 6 km southwest of Jiayuguan City, it is located in the middle of the narrowest valley of Jiayuguan and on the highest Jiayu mountain. The city walls on both sides of the city pass cross the desert Gobi, 8 km north to the great wall of Heishan and 7 km south. It is the western end of the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty and the first pass in Hexi since ancient times. Jiayuguan City is located in the middle of the narrowest valley of Jiayuguan, on the highest Jiayu mountain. The walls on both sides of the city pass across the desert Gobi. Jiayuguan is famous for its precipitous and magnificent terrain. It echoes with Shanhaiguan, the "No.1 pass in the world" thousands of miles away and is famous all over the world.

Traffic information

You can charter a bus in the urban area. The round trip cost is 50 yuan, 30 minutes one way.

Address: 7 km south of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province

Longitude: 98.201604

Latitude: 39.744429

Tel: 0937-6221114

Tour time: 1 hour

Traffic information: the first pier of the Great Wall is located 7 kilometers south of Jiayuguan City, which can only be chartered. It costs 150-180 yuan for Guancheng, cantilever great wall and the first pier of the Great Wall, and 50 yuan for a single scenic spot.

Ticket information: ticket coupons (including Jiayuguan Guancheng, Great Wall Museum and cantilever Great Wall) are 120 yuan / person in peak season (may 1-October 31), 100 yuan / person in off season (November 1-April 30), 12 yuan / person for battery car in scenic spot; ticket coupons are 22 yuan / person in peak season (may 1-October 31) and 11 yuan / person in off season (November 1-April 30)

Opening hours: 8:30-20:00 in peak season (may 1-October 31), 8:30-18:00 in off season (November 1-April 30)

Chinese PinYin : Zhang Cheng Di Yi Dun