Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
A skeleton on display contemplating its own mortality.
Kid Mai Death Awareness Cafe
This classic London pub has a surprising history behind it.
John Snow
The beef, Guinness, and oyster pie sports a rich, flaky crust.
The Guinea
Welcome to one of the only floating pubs in the world.
Tamesis Dock
This may be the oldest pie in the world.
St Helens 'Oldest Pie' at The Turks Head
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
12 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
15 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
22 days ago
“There may be a collective sense of a dark loneliness,” Dahl says, referring to Norway’s natural landscape.
In Norway, Easter Means Tucking Into Crime Stories
22 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All China Jiayuguan Jiayuguan Fortress

Jiayuguan Fortress

The western-most fortress on the Great Wall of China has gone from a strategic stronghold to a kitschy tourist carnival.

Jiayuguan, China

Added By
hannahlund252
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fortress   hannahlund252 / Atlas Obscura User
Jiayuguan Fort  
Jiayuguan Fort with flags  
Jiayuguan Fort  
Great Wall leaving Jiayuguan Fort  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Jiayuguan Fortress could either mark the beginning or the end of the Great Wall (depending on which direction you started from) and serves as a post to guard against the wild west of the East. In ancient times, it was seen as a strategic military post, and is shrouded in a wide variety of legends. 

In the days of its original construction, people the emperor banished from China were sent here, and exiled from China. The fort was seen as the last outpost of civilization before entering the vast Gobi Desert.

Today, however, visitors will encounter a very different kind of feeling. Workers in thin tinfoil-like armor march around in formation, while carnival-like games offer a chance to "hit the Mongolian'" with a bow and arrow. Vendors offer short camel rides and cannons perch atop the fortress, aiming at empty desert. In short, where once there were lonely sentinels, now there is merchandise--goods that, in the past, may have been treasures brought along that very Silk Road journey.

That being said, there is still a feeling of vastness and desolation, looking out into the desert from the fortress. To get the best sensation of being on one end of the Great Wall, travel out to the wall itself (it ends at a canyon a few miles away). There, in the quiet desert, the wall is replaced by barren wasteland. And from that distance the kitschy fortress looks a bit more like the imposing bulwark it must have been at one time.

Related Tags

Fortresses Great Wall Of China Military History Military

Know Before You Go

Located on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway line in China.

Community Contributors

Added By

hannahlund252

Edited By

dacubsrule, reyhan

  • dacubsrule
  • reyhan

Published

May 14, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://throughthedragongate.com/2013/08/08/the-end-of-the-world/
  • http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/gansu/jiayuguan.htm
  • http://throughthedragongate.com/2013/08/08/the-end-of-the-world/
  • http://english.cri.cn/6566/2013/08/26/3302s784097.htm
Jiayuguan Fortress
Jiayuguan Fortress
Jiayuguan
China
39.801389, 98.215833
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Yumen Ghost Town

Jiayuguan Shi, China

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of China

China

Asia

Places 218
Stories 77

Nearby Places

Yumen Ghost Town

Jiayuguan Shi, China

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of China

China

Asia

Places 218
Stories 77

Related Places

  • Castellum from above.

    Utrecht, Netherlands

    Castellum Hoge Woerd

    This recreated Roman outpost stands above its buried predecessor.

  • Fernandina Beach, Florida

    Fort Clinch

    Used as a military post in three different engagements, this fort has remained incomplete and unfired upon for nearly 200 years.

  • A fortress has resided on this location since the 13th century.

    Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Doboj Fortress

    A military fort has guarded the surrounding area from this key position since the 13th century.

  • Within the flat enclose of the D-shaped fort

    Monreith, Scotland

    Barsalloch Fort

    A 2,000-year-old Iron Age fort offers stunning ocean views.

  • Gdańsk, Poland

    Wisłoujście Fortress

    This 700-year-old structure is one of the most unique architectural and historic monuments in Gdańsk.

  • Ruthven Barracks.

    Highland, Scotland

    Ruthven Barracks

    These ruins witnessed the final gathering of the failed Jacobite Rebellion.

  • Ananuri.

    Georgia

    Ananuri

    This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.

  • Castle Itter.

    Itter, Austria

    Castle Itter

    German and American troops joined forces to defend this fortress during the strangest battle of World War II.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.