Yangguan

Yangguan, or Yangguan Pass (traditional Chinese: 陽關; simplified Chinese: 阳关; lit. 'Sun Gate'), is a mountain pass that was fortified by Emperor Wu of the Western Han dynasty around 120 BC and used as an outpost in the colonial dominions adjacent to ancient China. It is located approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) southwest of Dunhuang, in the Gansu territory to the west of the Shaanxi province in the far Northwest China, which was in ancient times the westernmost administrative center of China. It was established as a frontier defense post, as well as a developed place in China's remote western frontier; Emperor Wu encouraged Chinese to settle there. Today Yangguan is located in Nanhu Village, along the Hexi Corridor.

Yangguan was one of China's two most important western passes, the other being Yumenguan. In Chinese, yang means "sun" or "sunny", but it can also be used to mean "south" (the sunny side of a hill being the southern side). Yangguan was therefore so-named because it lies to the south of the Yumenguan Pass. It was an important landmark on the Silk Road. The fortress at Yangguan however had fallen into ruin by around AD 900.

Tekst overgenomen uit “Yang Pass” op de Engelstalige Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Yangguan staat op plaats 1.540 van 5.793 in de bekendheidsranglijst van deze atlas en op plaats 38 van de 120 die de atlas in China in kaart brengt. Gebouwd in 119 v.Chr., en daarmee ouder dan 99% van de gedateerde bouwwerken in de atlas — een van de 5 bouwwerken in de atlas die uit de 2e eeuw v.Chr. stammen. Zie hoe dat zich verhoudt in de kastelenstatistiek.

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