Why Go
A Pass the Wall Was Built Around
1. A gate between two valleys
Yanmen is a natural gap in the mountains that separates the valleys of central Shanxi from the steppe to the north. It controlled traffic in both directions for more than two thousand years, and the Great Wall here was built to hold the line. Three separate gatehouses stand along the road, each with its own arched gate through a brick wall.
The geography is also a climate border. The valley to the south is milder, and the basin to the north is colder and drier.
2. Walking the wall
From the gatehouses the wall climbs a long ridge, with watchtowers and signal towers on the high points. The photographs show the brick barbican and a gate arch with name tablets, a watchtower at the north end, and the wall running up the hill in low light.
A small temple for the god Guandi sits inside the pass, which is a common companion to forts on the Great Wall.
