Jiayuguan Travel Guide

The City of Jiayuguan, simply called Jiayuguan City, it is a prefecture-level city of Gansu Province, northwestern China. The City is named after "the Jiayuguan Fort", the westernmost point of the Great Wall within the city. It also links the bottleneck of the Hexi Corridor, which is ever most important route from ancient North China to Central Asia for traders and the military.

The city culture is a combination of Great Wall and Silk Road. It boasts many historical relics referring to these two wonders. The famous ones include Jiayuguan Fortress, the Overhanging Great Wall, the Great Wall Museum and Wei-Jin Tombs. Apart from these famous attractions, you can also find many other interesting places in this city, such as the famous First Fire Tower of the Great Wall and the Jiayuguan Museum.

jiayuguan-pass-3.jpgJiayuguan Fortress


Jiayuguan City is a golden an epic city which has unexplainable spots as well it is cover with both under the reflection of sunlight and its own Gobi temperament. Guancheng is five kilometers  away west of Jiayuguan City. Jiayuguan has a history of more than 600 years. It was founded in the five years of Ming Hongwu, and after 168 years of construction, Jiayuguan has become the most spectacular Guancheng along the Great Wall. In addition to important strategic and economic status, it is also a witness to important events such as Lin Zexu's demotion and Zuo Zongtang's exit.

Today, the Jiayu Pass is still considered as snow-capped mountain and the reckless Gobi. History has passed away but it left many memories and historical glimpse for the new generations. Now this city has become the most visiting place and there is a constant flow of tourists. Today's Jiayuguan City remains a much-visited destination for travelers to experience some sort of remnant of its ancient silk road charms. Apart from the best-known Jiayuguan Fort of the Great Wall, many other tourist attractions are also well worth visiting.

Ethnic groups: Han, Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Yugu, Baoan, Hazake, Tu, Sala, Manchu, and Mongolian

Neighboring Areas: Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Qinghai provinces, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui, and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.

Time in Jiayuguan: the same as Beijing time, GMT+8

Administrative Division: Three districts (Changcheng district, Xiongguan district, Jingtie district)

                                       Eight sub-district offices (Wuyi, Xinhua, Qianjin, Shengli, Jianshe, Chaoyang, Yuyuan, Jingtieshan Diggings)

                                          Three towns (Yuquan, Wenshu, Xincheng).


Location to Jiayuguan

Jiayuguan city lies in the Gobi desert and in the middle of Hexi Corridor, it is about 776 kilometers away from Lanzhou and 5 - 6 hours away by bus from Dunhuang. It covers an area of 3000 square kilometers with the population of Jiayuguan is 300,000. It has a history of over 630 years.

Around 1372, during the Ming Dynasty, a fortress was built to protect the last frontier of the Chinese empire. The construction of this fortress was  completed around 1540 and became a small township engaged in local trading and catering to the needs of the military garrisons stationed at the fort. The city was used to be the pass of the famous Silk Road and the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty.


Why Tourists need to Visit Jiayuguan (Things to Do)

The impressive Fantawild Silk Road is located in the south area of Jiayuguan City. It is a large-scale high-tech fourth-generation theme park invested and constructed by Shenzhen Huaqiang Group. 

Fantawild Silk Road Dreamland-1.jpgFantawild Silk Road Dreamland


The another sightseeing place is Zixuan Winery is located in Jiayuguan City, which is the junction of China and the West on the ancient Silk Road and west of the Great Wall. It is the largest steel base in Northwest China. The brewing-based company, which is the largest single cellar in Asia.


The Most Popular Attractions

Our company would like to recommend tourists must visit the Jiayuguan Fortress when they come to Jiayuguan. The pass is the largest and the most complete military defense system with the most beautiful landscape among the historical sites of Chinese great wall as an encyclopedia and building museum of the Great Wall.

The Overhanging Great Wall is part of the Great Wall of China and located 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) northwest of the Jiayuguan Fortress.

Pay a visit to the Weijin Tombs (Tombs of Wei and Jin Dynasty) located in the northwestern Gobi desert 20 km away from Jiayuguan City, which are ancient tombs of brick paintings dating back 265-420 AD.

The Great Wall Museum is located at the east gate of the scenic area, which was opened to the visitor in October 1989 and it is the first one to exhibit the Great Wall culture comprehensively and systematically.


Travel in Jiayuguan

Transportation

In this place tourist doesn't need any guide line, they can walk around this city and explore it by themselves.

jiayuguan travel tips.jpg

And it is very convenient to get to Jiayuguan city and leave it. The transportation networks of airlines, railway, and highways have been established.

Shopping

Shopping in Jiayuguan is very important for you to prepare suitable souvenirs. What should you buy? Here are some suggestions.

Local Cuisine

Jiayuguan local cuisine has been strongly influenced by the nomadic tribes and ethnic groups for the situation of northwest China. The staple food here is wheat flour. Sheep meat is also very popular in the locals' daily life. See more about Local Cuisine in Jiayuguan

Pay Attention 

When you select your hiloday destination then there is something you should pay attention to avoid unnecessary tactics when you travel to Jiayuguan. Here we prepare the Jiayuguan Travel Advices for you


Best Time to Visit Jiayuguan

Based on the tourism score, the best time to visit Jiayuguan to enjoy the summer activities starts from late June to late August, the weather is the most favorable of the year at that period. January and February are the coldest months of the year, and July and August are the hottest. See more


Best Place to Stay

Accommodation is an important part of travel, Jiayuguan Hotels will provide comfortable and warm accommodation for your journey

Jiayuguan Tour Packages and Offers

  • 7 Days Silk Road Group Tour to Gansu & Qinghai

    7 Days Silk Road Group Tour to Gansu & Qinghai

    Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Zhangye - Xining - Chaka

    $980 View Details

  • Panoramic Qinghai Gansu Tour: Golmud, Hexi Corridor, Gannan Tibetan

    Panoramic Qinghai Gansu Tour: Golmud, Hexi Corridor, Gannan Tibetan

    Xining-Qinghai Lake-Wulan-Golmud-Dunhuang-Jiayuguan-Zhangye-Tongren-Luqu-Zhagana-Xiahe-Lanzhou

    $ View Details

  • 8 Days Gansu and Badan Jaran Desert Adventure

    8 Days Gansu and Badan Jaran Desert Adventure

    Zhangye-Badan Jaran Desert-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang

    $ View Details

  • Natural Wonders Adventure to Gansu and Qinghai in Northwest China

    Natural Wonders Adventure to Gansu and Qinghai in Northwest China

    Dunhuang-Jiayuguan-Zhangye-Xining-Qinghai Lake

    $3838 View Details

  • 8 Days China Tour to Qinghai and Gansu

    8 Days China Tour to Qinghai and Gansu

    Xining-Qinghai Lake-Chaka-Zhangye-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang

    $1350 View Details

  • 6 Days Gansu Silk Road to Rainbow Mountain & Mogao Grottoes

    6 Days Gansu Silk Road to Rainbow Mountain & Mogao Grottoes

    Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang

    $ View Details

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