Experience the best of Jiayuguan

Jiayuguan stands in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu province, the strip of oases that carried the Silk Road, with the snow-capped Qilian Mountains to the south and the Gobi to the north. Its fort, begun in 1372 under the Ming, was the last major pass on the western end of the Great Wall, beyond which lay the lands outside the empire. Rammed-earth walls, gate towers and a courtyard fill the fortress.

The Overhanging Great Wall, a rebuilt stretch, climbs a steep ridge north of the fort, and the First Beacon Tower stands on a cliff above the Taolai River gorge. Outside the city, the Wei–Jin tombs have painted bricks showing daily life of the third and fourth centuries, from farming to feasting.

Mutton in many forms, thick hand-pulled noodles and flatbreads are the standard meals of the corridor, with fruit from the oases. Winds sweep the plain, and the dry weather of summer and early autumn suits a visit best.