Yangguan Historic Sites
Yangguan Historic Sites
4.2
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Yangguan Historic Sites
Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Attractions
4 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.2
59 reviews
Excellent
24
Very good
23
Average
11
Poor
0
Terrible
1
xcschlr
Milwaukee, WI986 contributions
Jun 2024 • Couples
There is a low-cost tour bus that goes from Dunhuang to the Yadan Geopark and several historical sites including Yangguan, but the trip takes a whole day and often does not end until after midnight. Our main interest was to visit the geopark, so we hire a car for 60-70 U.S. dollars to go there. We could have easily skipped Yangguan, but we had lunch at a fantastic restaurant in a nearby town and stopped by the historical site. Yangguan has a small museum and remnants of a very old fort. The vista of the desolate landscape with snow-capped mountains in the background is something I enjoyed seeing, and the stories told in the museum and reflected in the ruins of the fort are also very interesting.
Written August 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WorldGlutton
London, UK24,814 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
Historical records show, Yangguan Pass has been a militant stronghold in many feudal dynasties since the Western Han Dynasty, and it witnessed numerous merchants, monks, envoys, travelers going out and in.
However currently the old Yangguan Pass has been rebuilt and expanded into a huge tourist attraction imitating ancient frontier scenes.
There are plenty of cultural relics inside the present Yangguan Pass scenic area, including the Ancient Yangguan Pass Fortress, Yangguan Beacon Tower, Yangguan Ancient Path, Shouchang City Ruins, Ancient Tombs, Yangguan Pass Museum and many other sites of Han Dynasty.
The Museum has 4,000 displays of pottery, jade , stone stools, statues and weapons. The Han Dynasty Two Frontier Passes Exhibition Hall shows its construction history and effect the Yangguan & Yumen Passes brought in the past.
A replica of Yangguan Fortress (仿汉阳关关城) is constructed in original layout according to historical documents. Also there is a Yangguan Gate (阳关道), an exit where you can experience/indulge in their activities like custom clearance, drinking wine before saying good goodbye to friends. From far we saw the beacon tower, standing alone in the boundless desert, amidst the nature view , a pretty panaromic sight for photography.
From here we took the mini bus to Han Dynasty Barracks (仿汉兵营) , a remake from old barracks , where there are set up camps, here sets up camps, military training ground and army-related facilities.
Highly recommended for history lovers!!!
However currently the old Yangguan Pass has been rebuilt and expanded into a huge tourist attraction imitating ancient frontier scenes.
There are plenty of cultural relics inside the present Yangguan Pass scenic area, including the Ancient Yangguan Pass Fortress, Yangguan Beacon Tower, Yangguan Ancient Path, Shouchang City Ruins, Ancient Tombs, Yangguan Pass Museum and many other sites of Han Dynasty.
The Museum has 4,000 displays of pottery, jade , stone stools, statues and weapons. The Han Dynasty Two Frontier Passes Exhibition Hall shows its construction history and effect the Yangguan & Yumen Passes brought in the past.
A replica of Yangguan Fortress (仿汉阳关关城) is constructed in original layout according to historical documents. Also there is a Yangguan Gate (阳关道), an exit where you can experience/indulge in their activities like custom clearance, drinking wine before saying good goodbye to friends. From far we saw the beacon tower, standing alone in the boundless desert, amidst the nature view , a pretty panaromic sight for photography.
From here we took the mini bus to Han Dynasty Barracks (仿汉兵营) , a remake from old barracks , where there are set up camps, here sets up camps, military training ground and army-related facilities.
Highly recommended for history lovers!!!
Written October 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian Anderson
Shanghai, China158 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
Worth a visit for the desert landscape and feeling of centuries of history. A former Silk Road Customs post/fortress on a pass on the former Chinese border. About an hour from Dunhuang city and can be combined in a day trip with Yumenguan which was Yangguan’s private competitor. We had to cancel the latter due to a sandstorm, which are apparently more frequent in the afternoons
Written May 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jtaylor946
Guangzhou, China783 contributions
Jan 2021
I’m giving this 5 stars for the amazing scenery! Before you get to the pass, you need to go through a museum area. You can see some ancient relics and find out more about the history of the area. I wasn’t particularly interested in this. After you leave the museum area, you take a short ride to the actual pass. There’s not too much of the pass left, but the views are incredible, made better by the blue sky! I definitely recommend visiting here if you’re in this area!
Written January 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
eVe 🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬
Singapore, Singapore1,534 contributions
Oct 2016 • Couples
Yangjuan gives me a poetic and yet lonely sad feeling. If you read the history behind this place, it said when one leaves the gateway, there is no return.....After you took the internal bus, you will come to the more authentic part of Yangguan ruins, walkable but you may take over 45 minutes. Immerse yourself there and try to feel the air around it.
Written November 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PablosXanderpants
Victoria, Canada247 contributions
Oct 2016 • Family
This place has appeared in many major historical events in the past, especially between 100AD and 900AD. It's a ruin now, but you can imagine what it was like during its prosperous time. Highly recommended for history lovers!
Written October 9, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanos F
Athens, Greece887 contributions
Jun 2015
There is an old Poem saying....."Past the Yangguan out to the west, old friends there'll be none." and describes characteristically what Yangguan once was for old China... the western frontier. After that the ominous but majestic deserts awaited the adventurous traveler. Still you can feel it when you are looking ahead at the lookout spot near the tower. The reconstructed old frontier Chinese Town is really beautiful, therefore some scenes of historical movies and tv series were shot here. Walk a little inside the town and you will forget about the modern world. Wear even some costumes in order to take your souvenir picture...Not everyday you have the feeling that you play a part in a movie. Museums are interesting but the town and the look out spot are more imposing especially if you belong to the nostalgic ones.
Written January 25, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
YorkHiker
Yorkshire, UK1,396 contributions
Aug 2015 • Solo
I prefer Yangguan to some of the other desert sites. Yangguan comprises:
1) Small ruined mud tower of Yuanguan with excellent desert views.
2) Silk Road museum - no photos allowed.
3) Great Wall museum (excellent) - no photos allowed.
4) Reconstructed walled Silk Road town with siege weapons.
5) Reconstructed ruined city gate.
6) Reconstructed nomad camp.
While the mud tower of Yuanguan is tiny, the views from the tower out into the desert and hills are of sand dunes is an image of the Silk Road I won't forget. The two museums are also surprisingly good.
I'm glad I paid extra after my desert tour to go here. Much more worthwhile than Xiqian 1000 Buddha caves if you have to decide between the two.
1) Small ruined mud tower of Yuanguan with excellent desert views.
2) Silk Road museum - no photos allowed.
3) Great Wall museum (excellent) - no photos allowed.
4) Reconstructed walled Silk Road town with siege weapons.
5) Reconstructed ruined city gate.
6) Reconstructed nomad camp.
While the mud tower of Yuanguan is tiny, the views from the tower out into the desert and hills are of sand dunes is an image of the Silk Road I won't forget. The two museums are also surprisingly good.
I'm glad I paid extra after my desert tour to go here. Much more worthwhile than Xiqian 1000 Buddha caves if you have to decide between the two.
Written August 29, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kyushin
Daegu, South Korea30 contributions
Oct 2018
You are told by guides that a city once thrived here and is now buried under the sands, only remnants of a Han gate remain, but it is a pivotal location where one left China and entered the "unknown" regions of the Silk Road. You can get a good feel for what it must have felt like so many centuries ago.
Written November 6, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hock8
Shenzhen, China75 contributions
Jun 2016 • Friends
All the sights on a tour outside Dunhuang are beautiful but it takes hours of driving to reach the places in the remote areas. The historic sites and landscapes are beautiful but not much in between. Pack a lunch as eating is on your own for the most part.
Written July 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing