Nowhere in the Hexi Corridor does a traveler feel closer to those who came before him than at Yumen Pass. Located about 90 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang, it marks the corridor's westernmost end — a threshold laden with both historical and emotional weight.

For those departing, this was the final farewell to familiar soil, a place for lingering glances before vanishing into the unknown. For those arriving, it was a gateway of hope — the desert and its hardships behind them, and ahead, the vibrant trading hub of Dunhuang, beckoning like a promise fulfilled.

Once surrounded on three sides by water — a strategic choice for its location — the pass now consists of only a rectangular fortress with crumbling rammed-earth walls that blend seamlessly into the surrounding Gobi.

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However, as an outpost of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), this UNESCO World Heritage Site still warrants a long journey. In Chinese, yumen means "jade gate". Raw jade once traveled through the corridor, part of the ancient Silk Road, to workshops where it was transformed into exquisite ritual and ornamental pieces. Not just jade, the techniques of metalworking and chariot-building also traversed this route, long before Zhang Qian's landmark journey.

"The pass is a physical reminder, a monument to connection that we are still seeking to revive and enhance today," says Li Yongping, a senior researcher at the Gansu Provincial Museum.

To connect worlds, one had to protect them. The Han emperors understood this, and the Great Wall was built over 11,000 kilometers to safeguard against those who might disrupt the network of communication. Remaining segments of this meandering wall can be found only a few kilometers away.

Constructed with alternating layers of sandstone and indigenous plants like desert reed and red willow, the walls bordered fields of fine sand, designed to capture footprints — and with them, the movements of enemy troops. (Red willow sticks are still used today — not for defense, but to skewer mutton and beef for the region's beloved barbecue.)

Interestingly, long before humans walked the Earth, Mother Nature had begun carving her own Great Wall in the Gobi, with wind as her chisel. In what is now the Dunhuang Yardang (Yadan in Chinese) National Geopark — "Yardang" refers to land formations sculpted by relentless desert winds — whistling gusts have shaped silent, jagged turrets of stratified sandstone since time immemorial.

This land once lay beneath the ocean until collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate — beginning around 50 million years ago — thrust it upward. The same tectonic forces were responsible for raising the Qilian Mountains and for lifting vast stretches of land in Zhangye, another oasis town, exposing the latter's ancient seabeds and their layered sedimentary rocks.

In the 1920s and '30s, a group of Chinese geologists studied the landform in Zhangye, before naming it "Danxia", or "the red afterglow", indicating the landscape's dominant rusty red hue produced by iron oxide. The Zhangye National Geopark is home to the "Colorful Danxia", where red serves as the backdrop to a striking palette shaped by minerals — iron sulfide creating yellow hues and high concentrations of chloride and iron silicate producing shades of green and blue.

Remote frontier

From the start, the Han court encouraged migration to the corridor and had stationed troops to cultivate the land — a strategy that not only reinforced territorial control but also advanced local agriculture and economy. Successive dynasties continued this policy, as evidenced by historical records and painted bricks from excavated tombs in the region dating back to a period of time between the 2nd and the 4th centuries.

For China, that was a period of warfare, political strife and division. The Hexi Corridor, often seen as a remote frontier, became a refuge not only for displaced people but also for their minds and spirits. Confucianism, which struggled to find space amid the heartland's turmoil, flourished here, exemplified today by a temple-academy dedicated to the philosopher-saint in Wuwei, built in 1437 and still standing today.

Collectively, the painted tomb bricks rendered a vivid portrayal of local life, showing people farming, herding, dancing, gathering mulberry leaves for silkworms and, perhaps not surprisingly, enjoying barbecued meat in a more uninhibited fashion, using large skewers resembling a trident.

Yet, no other brick has told a more riveting tale than the one depicting a messenger astride a galloping horse, his left hand raised, clutching a scroll that surely bore an urgent message. In this land, what could be more precious than vital military intelligence — or a letter carrying the distant echoes of loved ones, thousands of miles?

Over 1,600 years after the construction of the Yumen Pass, another pass-cum-military fortress was built starting in 1539 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), in what is now Jiayuguan city, named after the pass itself.

Located 160 km southeast of Yumen Pass, Jiayu Pass marks the western end of the Ming Great Wall. Nearly 80 percent of the existing structures, covering more than 33,500 square meters, date back to the Ming Dynasty. These include imposing tower buildings and large stone slabs with deep grooves left by passing carriages.

Stones for construction were sourced from the nearby Black Mountain. In winter, water was poured on the slopes to create a natural slide for easier transport. Winters are still harsh, and staying warm is essential for visitors who choose to experience the land at its most severe.

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Interestingly, the rammed earth used for construction was sun-dried in summer and fried in a gigantic wok during winter to ensure that no plant seeds or insect eggs remained, preventing future threats to the wall's stability. With the Ming Great Wall extending north and south of it, the pass, located at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, seemed to hold the corridor gently by the neck with its strategic control, or so it was believed.

Here stands the westernmost beacon tower of the Ming Great Wall, with bundles of sticks once burned to send urgent signals displayed in a nearby museum. By then, the ancient Silk Road had waned, replaced by what would become known as the Maritime Silk Road connecting southern and southeastern China with the broad market in the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula, eastern Africa and Europe.

New frontiers emerged, and new world unveiled, yet these ancient passes and walls endured — witnesses to the might of ancient China, and to the great land route that bridged civilizations between the East and West.

Must visit:

・ Yumen Pass and Han Dynasty Great Wall: Dunhuang, Gansu province

・ Jiayu Pass and Ming Dynasty Great Wall: Jiayuguan city, Gansu

・ Confucius Temple in Wuwei: No 172, Chongwen Street, Liangzhou district, Wuwei city, Gansu

Tong Yunshan contributed to this story.