Jiayuguan

Jiayuguan

Jiayuguan is known as "the most powerful pass in the world",

It is located in the middle of the narrowest Valley 5km west of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province. The city walls on both sides of the city pass cross the desert Gobi, connecting the great wall of Heishan in the north and the first pier in the world in the south. It is the gateway at the westernmost end of the great wall of Ming Dynasty. Historically, it was called the throat of Hexi river. Because of its dangerous terrain and magnificent architecture, it is called the key to the border. Jiayuguan is the transportation fortress of the ancient "Silk Road" and one of the three wonders of the great wall of China (Shanhaiguan in the East, zhenbeitai in the middle and Jiayuguan in the West).

Jiayuguan was built in the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372). It is composed of inner city, outer city, Luocheng, Wengcheng, Chenghao and the North-South Great Wall, with a total length of about 60 kilometers. The Great Wall is dotted with platforms, piers, and fortresses. It is composed of three lines of defense, namely, inner city, outer city, and moat. It forms a defense system of five li, one flint, ten li, one pier, thirty Li, one fortress, and one hundred Li, one city.

Jiayuguan is a world cultural heritage, a national AAAAA tourist attraction, a national key cultural relics protection unit, and a national patriotic education demonstration base. The main scenic spots are the city of Jiayuguan, the hanging wall, the first pier of the Great Wall, the tombs of Wei and Jin Dynasties, the stone carvings of Heishan, Mulan City, "July 1" glacier, gliding base, etc.

geographical environment

Jiayuguan is located at the westernmost pass of Hexi Corridor in the west of Gansu Province (Hexi Corridor continues to extend westward). The western part of Gansu province belongs to the desert area. The Hexi Corridor is sandwiched between the towering Qilian Mountain and Beishan Mountain (including Mazong mountain, heli mountain and Longshou mountain), with a length of about 1000 kilometers from east to west. An ancient road passes through the Gobi and alluvial plain at the foot of Qilian Mountain, which is the ancient "Silk Road". The road is difficult and dangerous. At the pass of Jiayu mountain, the narrow valley passes through the mountain and the dangerous slope forces the road. Jiayu pass is located here. The situation is very dangerous. It leads to Suzhou (today's Jiuquan) in the East and Anxi in the West. It is the link between Chang'an in Kyoto and the western regions.

Historical evolution

Jiayuguan, located in the west central part of Hexi Corridor, was built in 1372, nine years earlier than SHANGUAN customs. It is not only the largest pass on the existing great wall, but also the largest pass in China.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Feng Sheng, the Duke of Song Dynasty and the general of Zhenglu army, was on his way to victory. He was located in the middle of the Hexi corridor. He was connected to Jiuquan in the East, Yumen in the west, Heishan in the back, and Jianguan at the West foot of jiayuyuan, the throat of Qilian in the south. Turpan in the eastern part of the Ming Dynasty became more and more powerful, and often led troops to invade the cities in the Hexi corridor. Jiayushan pass was a must pass. Since the completion of Jiayuguan, it has become an important national defense area in Western China and plays an important role in ensuring the security of Hexi region.

In November 1516, man su'er Khan invaded Suzhou. Ruining, a guerrilla general, was killed, and the whole army was lost.

Architectural form

overview

Jiayuguan by the inner city, the outer city, the moat three lines of defense into the overlap and defend the potential, tight. Connected with the Great Wall, it forms a military defense system of five li, one flint, ten li, one pier, thirty Li, one fort and one hundred Li, one city. When Jiayuguan was first built, it was a 6-meter-high Earth City, covering an area of 2500 square meters. The existing Guan City covers a total area of more than 33500 square meters, which is composed of outer city, inner city and urn city. There are 14 archery towers, enemy towers, turrets, attics and gates on the inner wall of Jiayuguan. There are guerrilla general's mansion, Jingting and Wenchang Pavilion on the inner wall of Jiayuguan. There are temples, archways and theatres outside the east gate.

inner city

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.

Guancheng

The perimeter of Guancheng is 733 meters. 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. In 1924, the city building was destroyed. 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 for many times, and is well preserved.

Guancheng is mainly built within the city, with a perimeter of 640 meters, an area of 25000 square meters, and a height of 10.7 meters. It is rammed with loess, and its west side is covered with brick walls, which is majestic and solid. In the inner city, there are two gates, the east gate is Guanghua gate, and the west gate is Rouyuan gate, which means to keep the western border stable. There is a three story hilltop building on the platform. The East and West gates are surrounded by an urn, and the west gate is surrounded by a Luocheng, which is connected with the north and south walls of the outer city. There is a "Jiayuguan" gate leading to the outside of the gate, and a Jiayuguan building is built on it.

defense system

Jiayuguan City is close to mountains and rivers. It guards a gorge about 15 kilometers wide from north to south. The Taolai River Valley in the south of the gorge also forms a natural barrier. There are 66 piers and abutments in the East, West, South, North and northeast of Jiayuguan. Jiayuguan is a natural place with both attack and defense. It forms a strict military defense system with the nearby facilities such as the Great Wall, Chengtai, Chenghao and Fengsui. It is also known as "the most powerful pass in the world".

Main attractions

stage

Jiayuguan stage was built in 1792 by Bao Shiyi, a guerrilla General of Jiayuguan. It was a place of entertainment for garrison officers and soldiers, city residents and business travelers. Its shape is a typical Chinese traditional classical stage. The front and background are separated by a wooden screen, and eight figures are drawn in the center of the screen, which is known as "Eight Immortals". The top is the traditional Chinese pattern "Eight Diagrams", which is a comprehensive reflection of ancient Chinese thought, culture and science. On both sides is a group of murals, the contents of which are monks in temples, nuns in nunneries and their pets. These paintings are very rare on other stages. There are couplets written on both sides of the stage: "parting, sorrow and joy, performing the past, being wise, loyal and sycophantic, recognizing the scene", which summarizes the changes in the romance of the world and the functions of opera performance places from ancient times to the present.

Rouyuanmen

In the west gate of the inner city, the word "Rouyuan" is engraved on the forehead of the gate, which means that the Ming Dynasty implemented the policy of "Huairou" to the nomads in the border areas (outside the pass) to pacify the remote areas and realize the strategy of long-term stability.

Gwanghwamun

The inner city east gate is engraved with the word "Guanghua gate" on the forehead, facing the East, indicating that the rising sun and auspicious atmosphere shine on the earth. The door opening is paved with stone strips mined from Heishan.

It was built in the first year of Zhengde of Ming Dynasty (1506) and was presided over by Li Duancheng, then vice-president of military equipment of Suzhou. "Guanghua building" is a three story, three eaves and hilltop structure, with a height of 17 meters. It's carved and decorated in five colors. The first floor of the pavilion is made of brick and wood structure, and the second and third floors are made of wood structure mortise and tenon. Although it has experienced nearly 500 years of ups and downs, earthquakes and other natural disasters, it still stands on the top of Guancheng.

Wenchang Pavilion

Wenchang Pavilion was built in Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in 1822. The pavilion is a hilltop building with two floors and two eaves. On both sides of the ground floor, there are single rooms with 18 red painted columns around, forming an ambulatory. Inside, there are three rooms wide and two rooms deep. There are lattice doors and windows on all sides, and more than 80 landscape and figure color paintings are painted on the top. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, this pavilion was a place for literati to meet friends, recite poems and paint, and read books. In the late Qing Dynasty, it became a place for civil servants to work.

Guan Yu Temple

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, he moved from inner city to present place. In the temple, there was a main hall, two accompanying halls, a knife room, a hall, a stable and a archway. The total area is 720 square meters. Guandi temple has been expanded many times, and the last renovation was presided over by Xiong Minqian, a guerrilla General of Jiayuguan. In 1998, Jiayuguan Guancheng Cultural Management Office raised 700000 yuan to renovate the Guandi temple and painted the archway, which restored the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Monument to the world

More than 100 meters outside the gate of guanxi, there is a stone tablet of "the world's great pass" published in the Qing Dynasty. In 1809, when Li Tingchen, commander in chief of Suzhen, inspected the defense of Jiayuguan, he saw that there were Qilian snow mountains in the South and Heishan in the north. The pass was magnificent, so he wrote down the word "world's majestic pass" and made a stone tablet.

Luocheng and Jianlou

Luocheng was first built in the eighth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1495), under the leadership of Li Duancheng, a soldier in Suzhou. "Luocheng" is the front of the enemy, and the "convex" shaped walls are all built with bricks, which are very solid. There are "arrow towers" at the north and south ends of "Luocheng", which are facilities for watching the beacon fire in Guanxi, Guannan and Guanbei. The two ends are connected with the outer wall, which is connected with the Great Wall in the north and south of Guancheng.

Turrets and enemy towers

There are turrets at the four corners of the inner city, also known as "garrison towers", which are like blockhouses and are the places where the soldiers guarding the city are on duty. The north and south walls are built with enemy towers, where weapons are placed. Standing here looking back, "Guanghua building"

Chinese PinYin : Jia Yu Guan