Yangguan Pass (陽(yáng)關(guān))

Ruins of a beacon tower at Yangguan Pass [Photo by Mi Xingang/China.org.cn]

The Yangguan Pass, a mountain pass on the Silk Road, is located approximately 70 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang. Together with the Yumen Pass, this one too was established as a frontier defense pass by Emperor Wu (156 B.C.-87 B.C.) of the Han Dynasty. However, currently, the Yangguan Pass just consists of the ruins of a once high beacon tower.