Great Wall Fort at Jiayuguan

3. Ticket Gate

Here you see the ticket gate. The fort itself is still in the distance up on a slight hill. In its time it was one of the largest defensive fortresses in the Chinese Empire. It became a big stop plug built in the middle of an otherwise dangerous and wide open gap in the lengthy defensive works of the Northern Border, and lands from which for a 1,000 years already roving nomadic tribes had descended upon China.