Famous Yanmen Pass welcomes back visitors

With the waning of the novel coronavirus epidemic in Shanxi, Yanmen Pass, a renowned fortress of the Great Wall of China, reopened to tourists on March 1.

A family led by a mother surnamed Cao were the first visitors to the scenic spot after Spring Festival, arriving at the gate at 10:35 am.

The attraction welcomed 14 tourists on that day.

The site was closed on Jan 25 in response to the emergency of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to a proposal released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Feb 27, the country's cultural and historical sites are to open gradually according to the risk level of their local regions.

Xinzhou, where Yanmen Pass is located, is a low-risk city as recognized by the Shanxi provincial government. The site opened to tourists on March 1.

"I'm glad to visit the Great Wall in lovely weather and with so few people," said Cao, who added she was satisfied with the preventative measures taken by the scenic spot.

Located in Daixian county of Xinzhou city, Yanmen Pass is an important pass through the inner line of the Great Wall.

Situated at a place of strategic importance and difficult to get through, it was regarded as "the most important pass of the Nine Passes under Heaven" in ancient times. Many famous historical battles occurred in the area.

In the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the original pass was built on the summit of a hill accessible only by an ancient trail, for defense against the northern nomads. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) it fell into disrepair. The current Yanmen Pass was rebuilt in 1374 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Yanmen Pass is about 1 kilometer long and the height of the wall is about 4 meters. There are three gates in Yanmen Pass, with the central gate called Yanmen built over a tiny pass between two hills. Yanmen means "wild goose gate" in Mandarin Chinese, and is named so because wild geese are seen flying around the pass every year. The western gate is called Dili which means "to choose the proper location for a battle", and the eastern gate is called Tianxian which means "an impregnable fortress".

Yanmen Pass is about 20 km from Daixian's county seat and 180 km from Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi province.