Where martial passes guard poetic passages The Yangguan and Yumen Great Wall sections stand as citadels of timeless verse that echo beyond boundless desert, Erik Nilsson and Hu Yumeng report in Dunhuang, Gansu. By Erik Nilsson and Hu Yumeng | China Daily | Updated: 2025-11-04 08:30

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202511/04/WS69094916a310f215074b8beb.html The Yangguan and Yumen passes were born of imperial strategy but survive as strongholds of poetic imagery. The phrase "the spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass", from eighth-century poet Wang Zhihuan's Song of Liangzhou, evokes a boundary where the cultivated, clement and civilized empire ended, and the desolate, dangerous badlands began. It drew a line in the sand so sharp not even the rejuvenating breath of the seasons dared cut across.