Yumenguan, located on the road to the western regions opened by Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, was the gateway to all parts of the western regions in Han Dynasty, so it was located in Xiaofangcheng in the northwest of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. When the Great Wall between Jiuquan and Yumen was built in Ding Yuan or Yuanfeng (BC 1 16 to BC 105), Yumen Pass was established.
The existing city wall is complete, generally square, 24 meters long from east to west, 26.4 meters wide from north to south and 9.7 meters high. They are all made of yellow clay, covering an area of 633 square meters. There is a west wall and a north wall, and there is a big east-west driveway under the north slope, which is the postal road between the Central Plains and the western countries in history.
The origin of Yumenguan's name
Regarding the name of Yumenguan, some scholars have researched the contents recorded in the Han bamboo slips of Maquanwan and Xuanquanjia in Dunhuang, especially the Han bamboo slips of Maquanwan, which are the bamboo slips of Yumen Houguan, a subordinate of a captain in Yumenguan. There is no record that jade merchants from the western regions entered Dunhuang through Yumenguan in the Western Han Dynasty, and there is no record that Yumenguan levied jade tax on jade merchants from the western regions. Traditionally, the mountains are sunny in the south and cloudy in the south. Yumenguan is located on the south side of the old road of Shule River, so it should be called Yinguan.
According to Records of Historical Records, Biography of Emperor Gaozu, Biography of Emperor Gaozu and History as a Mirror, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, was defeated by Xiang Yu in elevation, leaving Yumen and Teng Gong alone in elevation. Cross the river and stay in Xiaowu. " Yumen is the north gate of elevation, and the north gate of this city is commonly known as Yumen, also known as Mengmen. The Han and Tang Dynasties sent troops to fight, and they ordered them to go out. It can be inferred that Yumenguan Pass should be a pass in the north and a fortress city of military nature.
The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia Yumenguan.