Hexi Corridor
Encyclopedia
Hexi Corridor or Gansu Corridor refers to the historical route in Gansu
province of China
. As part of the Northern Silk Road
running northwest from the bank of the Yellow River
, it was the most important route from North China to the Tarim Basin
and Central Asia
for traders and the military. The corridor is basically a string of oases along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau
. To the south is the high and desolate Tibetan Plateau and to the north, the Gobi Desert
and the grasslands of Outer Mongolia
. At the west end the route splits in three, going either north of the Tian Shan
or south on either side of the Tarim Basin. At the east end are mountains around Lanzhou
before one reaches the Wei River
valley and China proper
.
goods began appearing in Siberia
, having traveled over the Northern branch of the Silk Road, including the Hexi Corridor segment.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty
(221-206 BCE), the Yuezhi
tribe overcame previous settlers, the Wusun
and Qiang tribes, occupying the western Hexi Corridor. Later, Northern Xiongnu
tribal armies vanquished the Yuezhi and established dominance here during the early Han Dynasty
.
forces expelled the Xiongnu from Hexi Corridor and even Lop Nur
, when Xiongnu's King Hunye surrendered to Huo Qubing
in 121 BCE. The Han acquired a territory stretching from the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur, thus cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies. Again, Han forces repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BCE. After 111 BCE, new outposts were established, four of them in the Hexi Corridor, namely Jiuquan
, Zhangye
, Dunhuang
, and Guzang (Wuwei).
From roughly 115–60 BCE, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin
. Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions
in 60 BCE, which dealt with the region's defense and foreign affairs.
During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang
, Han lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Xiongnu in 63 CE, and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor. Dou Gu
defeated the Xiongnu again at the Battle of Yiwulu
in 73 CE, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.
After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu
was killed in 75 CE by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr
and Kucha
, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan
in 89 CE, Dou Xian
defeated the Xiongnu shanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains.
The Tang Empire fought with the Tibetan Empire
for control of areas in Inner and Central Asia. There was a long string of conflicts with Tibet over territories in the Tarim Basin between 670–692 CE.
In 763 the Tibetans even captured the capital of China, Chang'an
, for fifteen days during the An Shi Rebellion. In fact, it was during this rebellion that the Tang withdrew its western garrisons stationed in what is now Gansu
and Qinghai
Provinces, which the Tibetans then occupied along with the territory of what is now Xinjiang
. Hostilities between the Tang and Tibet continued until they signed a formal peace treaty in 821. The terms of this treaty—including the fixed borders between the two countries—are recorded in a bilingual inscription on a stone pillar outside the Jokhang
temple in Lhasa.
Dynasty, known also as the Tangut Empire, was established in the 11th century by Tangut tribes. Western Xia controlled from 1038 CE up to 1227 CE the areas in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu
, Shaanxi
, and Ningxia
.
's expansion to south, known as Mongol-Jin Dynasty War
, was started around 1207 by Genghis Khan
and continued after his death in 1227 CE by Ögedei Khan
. The Jin Dynasty fell in 1234 CE, with help from Song Dynasty
.
In addition to the Mongol-Jin War, Ögedei crushed the Western Xia Dynasty in 1227, pacifying the Hexi Corridor region, which was later controlled by the Yuan Dynasty
established by Kublai Khan
(the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire), lasted officially from 1271 CE to 1368 CE.
to the Jade Gate
at the border of Gansu and Xinjiang
. There are many fertile oases along the path, watered by rivers flowing from the Qilian Mountains, such as the Shiyang
, Jinchuan, Ejin
(Heihe), and Shule
Rivers.
A strikingly inhospitable environment surrounds this chain of oases: the snow-capped Qilian Mountains ("Nanshan") to the south; the Beishan mountainous area, the Alashan Plateau, and the vast expanse of the Gobi desert to the north. Geologically, the Hexi Corridor belongs to a Cenozoic
foreland basin
system on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau
.
The ancient trackway
formerly passed through Haidong, Xining
and the environs of Juyan Lake, serving an effective area of about 215000 km² (83,012 sq mi). It was an area where mountain and desert limited caravan traffic to a narrow trackway
, where relatively small fortifications could control passing traffic.
There are several major cities along the Hexi Corridor. In western Gansu
Province is Dunhuang
, then Jiuquan
(Suzhou
), then Zhangye
in the center, then Wuwei and finally Lanzhou
in the southeast. In the past, Dunhuang was part of the area known as the Western Regions
. South of Gansu Province, in the middle just over the provincial boundary, lies the city of Xining
, the capital of Qinghai
Province. Xining was the chief commercial hub of the Hexi Corridor.
The Jiyaguyan fort guards the western entrance to China. It's located in Jiayuguan pass at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the city of Jiayuguan. The Jiyaguyan fort is the first fortification of Great Wall of China
in the west.
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. As part of the Northern Silk Road
Northern Silk Road
The Northern Silk Road is a prehistoric trackway in northern China originating in the early capital of Xi'an and extending north of the Taklamakan Desert to reach the ancient kingdoms of Parthia, Bactria and eventually Persia and Rome. It is the northern-most branch of several Silk Roads providing...
running northwest from the bank of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, it was the most important route from North China to the Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
for traders and the military. The corridor is basically a string of oases along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
. To the south is the high and desolate Tibetan Plateau and to the north, the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
and the grasslands of Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was a territory of the Qing Dynasty = the Manchu Empire. Its area was roughly equivalent to that of the modern state of Mongolia, which is sometimes informally called "Outer Mongolia" today...
. At the west end the route splits in three, going either north of the Tian Shan
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan , also spelled Tien Shan, is a large mountain system located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak , ....
or south on either side of the Tarim Basin. At the east end are mountains around Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
before one reaches the Wei River
Wei River
The Wei River is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization....
valley and China proper
China proper
China proper or Eighteen Provinces was a term used by Western writers on the Qing Dynasty to express a distinction between the core and frontier regions of China. There is no fixed extent for China proper, as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred in Chinese history...
.
History
As early as the first millennium BC silkSilk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
goods began appearing in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, having traveled over the Northern branch of the Silk Road, including the Hexi Corridor segment.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
(221-206 BCE), the Yuezhi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
tribe overcame previous settlers, the Wusun
Wusun
The Wūsūn were a nomadic steppe people who, according to the Chinese histories, originally lived in western Gansu in northwest China west of the Yuezhi people...
and Qiang tribes, occupying the western Hexi Corridor. Later, Northern Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
tribal armies vanquished the Yuezhi and established dominance here during the early Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
.
Han Dynasty
In 121 BCE, HanHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
forces expelled the Xiongnu from Hexi Corridor and even Lop Nur
Lop Nur
Lop Lake or Lop Nur is a group of small, now seasonal salt lake sand marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.The lake system into which the Tarim...
, when Xiongnu's King Hunye surrendered to Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing , born in Linfen, Shanxi, was a general of the western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. Being the illegitimate son of Wei Shaoer, he was the nephew of Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu....
in 121 BCE. The Han acquired a territory stretching from the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur, thus cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies. Again, Han forces repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BCE. After 111 BCE, new outposts were established, four of them in the Hexi Corridor, namely Jiuquan
Jiuquan
- Suzhou town :The administrative center of the "prefecture-level city" of Jiuquan is the "District" of Suzhou , which occupies 3,386 square km in the eastern part of Jiuquan "prefecture-level city", and had a population of 340,000 as of 2002....
, Zhangye
Zhangye
-Administration:Zhangye has 1 urban district, 4 counties, 1 autonomous county, 97 towns, and 977 villages.-Demographics:Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents...
, Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
, and Guzang (Wuwei).
From roughly 115–60 BCE, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
. Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions
Protectorate of the Western Regions
The Protectorate of the Western Regions was a regional government established by the Han Dynasty to manage and to control the Western Regions, roughly today's Xinjiang ....
in 60 BCE, which dealt with the region's defense and foreign affairs.
During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang
Wang Mang
Wang Mang , courtesy name Jujun , was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin Dynasty , ruling AD 9–23. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow and his rule marks the separation between the Western Han Dynasty and Eastern Han Dynasty...
, Han lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Xiongnu in 63 CE, and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor. Dou Gu
Dou Gu
Dou Gu , born in Xianyang, Shaanxi, was a general fought in the Battle of Yiwulu in 73. Shortly after the battle, Dou Gu sent of two of his generals Ban Chao and Guo Xun to the Western Regions for a diplomatic expedition.-References:...
defeated the Xiongnu again at the Battle of Yiwulu
Battle of Yiwulu
The Battle of Yiwulu, was a battle under a major expedition against the Xiongnu launched by the Han Dynasty in the February, 73, ever since the fall of Xin Dynasty. The battle was a success for the Han, who were led by Dou Gu...
in 73 CE, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.
After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu
Chen Mu
Chen Mu , was a general during Han Dynasty, and served the first Protector General of the Western Regions under Eastern Han between 74-75. During the service, he was killed by the rebels from the state of Yanqi and Qiuci in 75.-References:...
was killed in 75 CE by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr
Karasahr
Yanqi , or Karasahr , is an ancient town on the Silk Road and capital of Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang, in northwestern China...
and Kucha
Kucha
Kuchaor Kuche Uyghur , Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po ; Sanskrit: Kueina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom...
, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan
Battle of Ikh Bayan
The Battle of Ikh Bayan , was a major expedition launched against the Xiongnu by the Han Dynasty in June, 89. The battle was a success for the Han under Dou Xian The Battle of Ikh Bayan , was a major expedition launched against the Xiongnu by the Han Dynasty in June, 89. The battle was a success...
in 89 CE, Dou Xian
Dou Xian
Dou Xian was a prominent Chinese general and statesman of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan which dominated court politics during his tenure. However, his father Dou Xun fell into disgrace and died in 70, leaving Dou...
defeated the Xiongnu shanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains.
Tang Dynasty
Tibetan Empire
The historic name for the Tibetan Empire is different from Tibet's present name.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century. From the 7th to the 11th century a series of...
for control of areas in Inner and Central Asia. There was a long string of conflicts with Tibet over territories in the Tarim Basin between 670–692 CE.
In 763 the Tibetans even captured the capital of China, Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, for fifteen days during the An Shi Rebellion. In fact, it was during this rebellion that the Tang withdrew its western garrisons stationed in what is now Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
Provinces, which the Tibetans then occupied along with the territory of what is now Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. Hostilities between the Tang and Tibet continued until they signed a formal peace treaty in 821. The terms of this treaty—including the fixed borders between the two countries—are recorded in a bilingual inscription on a stone pillar outside the Jokhang
Jokhang
The Jokhang, , also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang , is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school...
temple in Lhasa.
Western Xia Dynasty
The Western XiaWestern Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
Dynasty, known also as the Tangut Empire, was established in the 11th century by Tangut tribes. Western Xia controlled from 1038 CE up to 1227 CE the areas in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, and Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
.
Yuan Dynasty
The Mongol EmpireMongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
's expansion to south, known as Mongol-Jin Dynasty War
Mongol-Jin Dynasty War
Mongol-Jin Dynasty War lasted over 23 years and the Jin Dynasty finally fell in the year 1234; the year that the Mongols had claimed the total conquest of Jin Dynasty in whole northern China.- Background :...
, was started around 1207 by Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
and continued after his death in 1227 CE by Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
. The Jin Dynasty fell in 1234 CE, with help from Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
.
In addition to the Mongol-Jin War, Ögedei crushed the Western Xia Dynasty in 1227, pacifying the Hexi Corridor region, which was later controlled by the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
established by Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
(the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire), lasted officially from 1271 CE to 1368 CE.
Geography and climate
The Hexi Corridor is a long, narrow passage stretching for some 1000 kilometres (621.4 mi) from the steep Wushaolin hillside near the modern city of LanzhouLanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
to the Jade Gate
Jade Gate
Yumen Pass , or Jade Gate or Pass of the Jade Gate, is the name of a pass located west of Dunhuang in today's Gansu Province of China. In ancient times, this was a pass through which the Silk Road passed, and was the one road connecting Central Asia and China, the former called the Western Regions...
at the border of Gansu and Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. There are many fertile oases along the path, watered by rivers flowing from the Qilian Mountains, such as the Shiyang
Shiyang River
The Shiyang River is a river in the eastern Hexi Corridor in China. The river's old name was Gu River .The catchment area of the Shiyang River is about 41 600 km2, most of which is within today's Wuwei prefecture-level city of the Gansu province. The river originates from the Qilian Mountains,...
, Jinchuan, Ejin
Ejin River
The Ejin River , also known as the Heihe River , is a major river system that originates on the northern Gansu side of the Qilian Shan mountains...
(Heihe), and Shule
Shule River
The Shule River flows generally westwards through the Tibetan Plateau and the desert regions of northwestern China. It starts in the Qilian Mountains and stretches for some ; however, the river dries up about two-thirds of the way along its course and is lost in the Kumtag Desert, an endorheic...
Rivers.
A strikingly inhospitable environment surrounds this chain of oases: the snow-capped Qilian Mountains ("Nanshan") to the south; the Beishan mountainous area, the Alashan Plateau, and the vast expanse of the Gobi desert to the north. Geologically, the Hexi Corridor belongs to a Cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...
foreland basin
Foreland basin
A foreland basin is a depression that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithosphere to bend, by a process known as lithospheric flexure...
system on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
.
The ancient trackway
Trackway
A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...
formerly passed through Haidong, Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
and the environs of Juyan Lake, serving an effective area of about 215000 km² (83,012 sq mi). It was an area where mountain and desert limited caravan traffic to a narrow trackway
Trackway
A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...
, where relatively small fortifications could control passing traffic.
There are several major cities along the Hexi Corridor. In western Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
Province is Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
, then Jiuquan
Jiuquan
- Suzhou town :The administrative center of the "prefecture-level city" of Jiuquan is the "District" of Suzhou , which occupies 3,386 square km in the eastern part of Jiuquan "prefecture-level city", and had a population of 340,000 as of 2002....
(Suzhou
Suzhou District
The Suzhou District is an administrative district in Gansu, the People's Republic of China. It is one of 17 districts of Gansu.Suzhou District is part of the Jiuquan prefecture, and the seat of the prefecture government. Therefore, less-detailed modern maps typically mark Suzhou's location...
), then Zhangye
Zhangye
-Administration:Zhangye has 1 urban district, 4 counties, 1 autonomous county, 97 towns, and 977 villages.-Demographics:Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents...
in the center, then Wuwei and finally Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
in the southeast. In the past, Dunhuang was part of the area known as the Western Regions
Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Jade Gate, most often Central Asia or sometimes more specifically the easternmost portion of it The Western Regions or Xiyu was a...
. South of Gansu Province, in the middle just over the provincial boundary, lies the city of Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
, the capital of Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
Province. Xining was the chief commercial hub of the Hexi Corridor.
The Jiyaguyan fort guards the western entrance to China. It's located in Jiayuguan pass at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the city of Jiayuguan. The Jiyaguyan fort is the first fortification of Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
in the west.
Reference
- Yap, Joseph P. (2009). "Wars With The Xiongnu - A Translation From Zizhi tongjian" . AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4490-0605-1