Another place to visit the Great Wall is Sanguankou (三关口 – Sān guān kǒu). Sanguankou means Three gate pass but not much is left of the gate at this place. The wall is located at a gap in the southern part of the Helan Mountains 40 kilometres southwest of Yinchuan.
It’s a truly amazing sight to arrive at Sanguankou, right on the border to Inner Mongolia, to see how the wall continuing as far as the eye can see south through the desolate dry landscape. The vast emptiness of this location, even though not far from the bustling city of Yinchuan, makes it seem like stepping into another world.
This is one of the few passes going all the way trough the mountains, so no doubt that this was once a very important pass of the Great Wall.
At several places the wall has been destroyed by water passing trough the wall or to make way for roads. Some places it even seems that small caves have been dug into the bottom of the wall to provide shelter for shepherds. Otherwise the wall is in fairly good condition here, and it’s really amazing that a wall of this kind can survive for about 500 years.
Entrance price: free
Date of visit: October 8, 2008
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