Photographer's lonely city

Yumenguan former site. It is located on the Gobi Desert, 80km northwest of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province (it is two places with Yumenguan, where springs gush). According to legend, "Hetian Jade" was introduced into the Central Plains, hence its name. It is the only way to the north road of the ancient Silk Road. The existing city wall is complete and square, with a length of 24 meters from east to west, a width of 26.4 meters from north to south and a high salary of 9.7 meters. They are all made of yellow clay, covering an area of 663 square meters. There are all kinds of doors on the west wall and the north wall, and there are east-west lanes under the north slope, which is the only way for the Central Plains to communicate with countries in the western regions in history.

The former site of Yangguan is on an antique beach in the west of Dunhuang. Because of its ugliness, Yangguan lived in the south of Yumenguan, and the south of ancient times was Yang, so it was called "Yangguan", which was the throat of land transportation at home and abroad in ancient times and the only pass for the south of the Silk Road. The ancient city of Guandong is farmland, the abandoned site of Shouchang City in the distance, sand dunes and sand beams on three sides, and endless quicksand. There is a beacon tower of Han Dynasty on Dundun Mountain in the north, which is well preserved. To the east is Hongshankou. There is a deep ditch in the west, about 20 meters long, and the spring water in the ditch is very sweet. There are many Han tombs on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Although Guyangguan has been buried by quicksand now, you can still see the remains of Yangguan from the antique beach across several ridges to the west. The ankle-high wall foundation is faintly discernible, and the broken tiles and bricks have been scattered all over the floor, which can only remind people of that ancient love.

Between the yellow sand and the white clouds, there is an isolated city, Wan Ren Mountain.

Why use the elegy of willow to complain about the delay of spring, old Yumenguan, a spring breeze is not blowing!

The tragic and desolate artistic conception in Wang Zhihuan's poem Liangzhou Ci in Tang Dynasty aroused people's yearning for Yumenguan, an ancient and magical fortress.

Yumenguan, commonly known as Xiaofangcheng, is said to be named after the beautiful jade of Hetian jade was introduced into the Central Plains. Dunhuang, located at the western end of Hexi Corridor, is about 90 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang, which is one of the two passes between Han and West. It is the only way for the ancient Silk Road to leave Dunhuang from the west and enter the north and middle roads in the western regions. Since ancient times, it has been the gateway for the Central Plains to enter the Western Regions.

There is a legend about the origin of the name Yumenguan. According to legend, after the Silk Road was unblocked, caravans from various countries in the western regions entered the customs in an endless stream. Hetian jade, a special product of Yutian country, is also continuously transported to the mainland through here. In order to exchange a large number of silks of the Central Plains Dynasty, King Khotan sent officers and men to escort jade articles. After several escorts by officers and men, a strange thing happened-the camel carrying jade was foaming at the mouth and unconscious as soon as it entered the city. There's nothing the escort can do about it. An old man pulling a camel said to the escort officer, "camels get sick as soon as they enter the customs, and everything happens for a reason." We have been transporting jade here for many years and have never sacrificed to the gods. If you don't sacrifice again, I'm afraid you'll get sick next time. " The escort officer asked, "In your opinion, how can we eliminate diseases and disasters and ensure the safety of people and animals?" The old man said, "Set a circle on this gate with fine jade, so that the building will be brilliant and the gods will be happy." The escort did as the old man suggested, and the camel disaster was eliminated and he arrived in Chang 'an safely. Because the city gate is made of a circle of glittering jade, it has been called Yumenguan since then.

The establishment of Yumenguan began in the Western Han Dynasty, with a history of more than 2,000 years. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the bellicose Xiongnu has been a great threat to the Han nationality. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu attacked East Lake, chased Dayue people in the west, occupied Hexi, and took Hexi as the base area, repeatedly encroaching on the Han territory. The Han dynasty began to adopt a pro-Xiongnu policy, hoping for temporary peace. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abandoned the pro-Qin policy and launched a large-scale military counterattack against the Huns. In the second year of Yuanshou (BC 12 1), Huo Qubing, a general in title of generals in ancient times, led troops to the western expedition, which dealt a heavy blow to the right part of the Huns. In the same year, Hexi was divided into Wuwei and Jiuquan counties. In the sixth year of Ding Yuan (1 1 1), Zhangye and Dunhuang counties were added, and Yumenguan and Yangguan were built at the same time. From then on, Yumenguan and Yangguan became the important passes of the Western Han Dynasty in the west of Hexi Corridor.

After the return of the West to the Han Dynasty, the passage from the mainland to the Western Regions and European countries was opened, and China's unique silk was continuously transported to the West. Western music, religion, grapes, pomegranates, walnuts and alfalfa were also introduced to China. People are used to calling the traffic avenue connecting Asia, Europe and Africa thousands of miles away from Chang 'an (Xi 'an) in the East the "Silk Road". This road divides from Dunhuang to the west. All the way out of Dunhuang to the northwest through Yumenguan and Shanshan northbound, known as Tianshan North Road. One goes southwest from Dunhuang, passes through Yangguan and Annan Dam, and goes south along the Taklimakan Desert, which is called Tianshan South Road. Therefore, Yumenguan and Yangguan became the important checkpoints leading to the west on the Silk Road, and also the important stopping points for westward business travel and civil servants and military commanders. At that time, at Yumenguan, camel bells were fluttering, people shouted and hissed, caravans came in an endless stream, messengers came and went, and there was a scene of prosperity.

Today, the remains of Yumenguan in Han Dynasty are a small square castle, which stands on a gravel mountain in the east and west Gobi desert, with saline-alkali marshes in the south, Hala Lake not far from the north, the Great Wall in the north and the ancient Shule River in the north. Guancheng is all rammed with loess, covering an area of more than 600 square meters. There is a door in the west and a door in the north. The city wall is 24.5 meters long from east to west, 26.4 meters wide from north to south, the site is 9.7 meters high, 3.7 meters wide from top to bottom, and 4.9 meters wide under the north-south wall. There are walkways with a width of 1.3 meters around the top of the city, and there are internal and external female walls. In the southeast corner of the city, there is a horse path with a width less than 1 m, and you can reach the top of the mountain by turning south against the east wall. Climb the ancient pass, lift your eyes and look far away, surrounded by swamps, criss-crossing gullies, winding Great Wall, towering peaks, tall Populus euphratica and green springs. The red willows are red and the reeds are swaying, which complement each other with the majestic posture of the ancient view and make you fascinated and have mixed feelings.

At a distance of 0/5km from Yumenguan/Kloc-0, there is an ancient city of Hecang, which was the granary of Yumenguan in Han Dynasty. Only the ruins are left, but you can still see the momentum of the year. The only way from Dunhuang to Yumenguan is to take the sidewalk rolled out by cars on the Gobi Desert. Passengers renting off-road vehicles should ask local tour guides who are familiar with the route to lead the way in case they get lost.

Nanhu Township, located 70 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang City, opened up Hexi for Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, one of the "four counties, according to two customs". Since ancient times, the Silk Road has left Dunhuang from the west and passed through the southern part of the Western Regions. It is the gateway to the western border. Wang Yue, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "Weicheng is light dust in rainy city, and the guest house is green and willow-colored. Advise you to make another glass of wine. There is no reason for people to go out to Xiyangguan and make Yangguan famous forever.

Yangguan was built in the fourth year of the Han and Yuan Dynasties (before 107), and once set up a captain to manage military affairs. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, it has always been the only way for the Southern Silk Road. Due to its long history, there are few remains of Guancheng beacon tower. According to Yuanhe County Records, it is located in Yangguan, 60 miles west of Shou Chang County. In order to live south of Yumenguan, it is called Yangguan. This Han Dynasty is also in the south of Weihe River, and Shanshan and shache in the west are interesting. The late Wei Dynasty tried to locate Yangguan County here. Manuscripts of Dunhuang Stone Chambers Collected in Paris (Geography of Shazhou) (page 5034) contains: Yangguan, 20 steps from east to west, 27 steps from north to south. On the right is ten miles west of the county seat (Shou Chang). Now it has been destroyed and the base has been preserved. West to Shicheng, Yutian and other south roads. Yumenguan south, date: "Yangguan" (note: the ancients took Shannan as the sun). It can be seen that Yangguan Pass was destroyed in the Tang Dynasty, leaving only the base address. Gushou Great Wall is near Gongbei Village, Nanhu Township, Dunhuang City, and Yangguan is 6 miles west of Shoucheng Great Wall, which is 10 mile. Speaking of approximate figures. According to experts' research, the former site of Yangguan is in the quicksand zone opposite the "Antique Beach" in the west of Nanhu Township today.

75 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang, you can reach the former site of Yangguan: "Antique Beach". 1943 Mr. Xiang Da wrote during his inspection here: "At the northwest corner of Nanhu Lake today, there is a place name antique beach, which is choked by quicksand. There are relics of panlou and pottery tablets everywhere, jade articles, pottery tablets, ancient coins and other ancient artifacts from Han Dynasty to Tang and Song Dynasties, and the remains of antique beach reach Nanhu Beilong in the north, which can't be lingering. 1972, the cultural relics investigation team in Jiuquan area found a large number of wall-building sites behind the sand canal west of Antique Road 14. After trial excavation and measurement, the houses are arranged neatly and clearly, with an area of 10000 square meters, and there is still a generous castle wall foundation nearby. The former site of Yangguan should be here.

In ancient times, there was a 70-kilometer Great Wall connecting Yangguan and Yumenguan, and there were beacon towers every few tens of miles. There are more than a dozen beacon towers near Yangguan. Especially on the pier top on the north side of the antique beach, the beacon tower known as "the eyes and ears of Yangguan" is the largest, with the highest terrain and relatively complete preservation.

Why did Yangguan ancient fort build in this desert? Archaeologists found that Yangguan occupied the dangerous terrain of "one person guarding it, ten thousand people can't open it". In ancient times, there were abundant water sources nearby. Wowachi and Xitugou are the largest independent water sources. At least three or four thousand years ago, it became an oasis basin with a developed ditch burning culture. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, Sergeant Yangguan lived on this water. The communication between the west and the soil often dries up in the upper reaches, and springs in the lower reaches converge into streams, which flow northward, and sometimes flash floods occur. After the flood peak, the two sides of the gully collapsed one after another, the riverbed widened, and a large amount of sediment flowed down the river and deposited downstream. Sediment was carried around by the northwest wind, forming sand ridges, and the ancient city of Yangguan was gradually buried by water and sand.

Visitors to the Silk Road must go to Dunhuang, and those who go to Dunhuang must go to Yangguan. There are not many beautiful historical sites. The key is to mourn history and continue to mourn history in the imaginary space. There is a South Lake near Yangguan, and there is also a grape gallery with a unique style, so you can visit the local folk customs.