Beyond a statue of a general stands the restored fort complex at the Jiayu Pass, the very western end of the Great Wall during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and an important waystation along the Silk Road which passed through here starting in the 1st century BCE. Construction of the fort began in 1372 and was completed 168 years later in 1540. The pass is the narrowest point of the western portion of the Hexi Corridor, a 1,000 km/620 mile-long stretch of oases wedged between the Gobi Desert to the north and the Tibetan Plateau to the south.

The Great Wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor [China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan] were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

[The term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in 1877 by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road contributed not only to the exchange of goods and technologies, but also to the mutual enrichment of cultures and traditions of different peoples. Direct maritime trade between Europe and the Far East ultimately supplanted the overland route.]

On Google Earth: statue 39°48'9.19"N, 98°13'21.11"E