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Jiayuguan is a prefecture-level city in Gansu, China, with a population of 127,532 as of 2007. It is most famous for the nearby Jiayu Pass, the largest and most intact pass of the Great Wall of China.
Founded during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), there was originally just the Fort here, built onto an existing watchtower and completed in 1372. With primitive working tools it took thousands of laborers dozens of years to complete the project. Goats, and even ice, were used to convey building materials to the site. With completion, the fort became the strategic end of the Great Wall, demarcating the apparently advanced east from the allegedly desolate and dangerous west. Many Chinese still feel this way today, even after the completion of the Gansu Expressway.
The town itself grew up around the Fort, thriving from both its protection and location on the Silk Road. Nowadays, however, the town has lost much of its charm, bisected by main roads, including the expressway, and plagued by uninteresting buildings. For most tourists traveling along the Silk Road, the main purpose for coming to this remote outpost in Gansu is to pay a visit to the Fort, which guards the Jiayuguan Pass.
Aside from Beijing, Jiayuguan is one of the best places to visit the Great Wall, especially for its precipitousness, vastness and wildness.
Known as the 'mouth of China' because of its position at the end of the Great Wall of China where it guarded the western boundary of Ming dynasty China. The narrow river passage heading se from here is known as the Hexi Corridor and is nicknamed the 'throat of China'.
Getting there and away
Thanks to its footing as a major tourist destination on the Silk Road, Jiayuguan has rapidly become a transport hub only slightly less important than the provincial capital Lanzhou or Dunhuang in recent years. The city can now conveniently be accessed either by air, railway or bus.
By air
There are 5 weekly flights from Lanzhou and Dunhuang to Jiayuguan, not flying on Tuesday and Saturday. Also infrequent flights to Xi'an and Urumqi.
The airport is about 12km northeast of the city proper and a taxi should cost around Y40. A cheaper choice is the CAAC shuttle bus for Y10, which meets every flight.
By train
The Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway line passes the city . with regular trains to Beijing, Chengdu, Korla, Lanzhou, Shanghai, Urumqi, Xi'an and Zhengzhou. For tourists traveling between Lanzhou and Jiayuguan, the tour train leaves one city in the morning and arrives at the other in the evening.
The railway station is 5km from the city center, a taxi ride is around Y10 or a minibus No.1 from Xinhua Nanlu is Y1 only.
By bus
Highway G312 connects Lanzhou with Xinjiang via Jiayuguan. From here, you may either go north to Mongolia or head straight south to Golmud in Qinghai Province.
There are 5 daily buses between Dunhuang and Jiayuguan, about 6 hours. You may also take a daily sleeper coach to Lanzhou, Y160 /16 hours.
Also quite a number of buses to Zhangye. Be careful of the indirect buses, which may double the original 5-hour journey. The long-distance bus station lies on the main highway of the city proper, about 1km southwest of the central roundabout.
Getting around
Taxis, motorbikes, minibuses and buses form a huge pool around the Jiayuguan and Changcheng Hotels.
It is also fairly easy to travel in town by hiring a bike for about Y2~3/hour, so long as you do not mind braving the occasional gusts of sandy and dirty wind. Hotels with bike hire include the Jiayuguan, the Changcheng and the Youth Hotels.
