Great Wall Fort at Jiayuguan

16. Touring the Fort

In military terms Jiayuguan Fortress was the Central Strong-point of a vital defensive citadel that defended the Hexi Corridor, a narrow pass leading from the highlands of Central Asia directly to the Central Chinese Plains. At Jiayuguan Pass, the Great Wall of China was built across the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, with a steep and impassable river Gorge demarcating the Defenses in The South, the Fortress in the Middle and then in the North, the Overhanging or extended arm Great Wall of China.