Old photos of Jiayuguan in 1910-China Archive

Today, I would like to share a group of 1910 photos of Shanhai Pass in Gansu Province. Let’s take a look at the magnificent scenery of Shanhai Pass, the first majestic pass in the world

In the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372), Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor Taizu, sent troops to the Shuo Desert, and began to prepare for the construction of Jiayu Pass in July that year, which was gradually increased year by year. When the Jiayuguan Pass was first built, its construction was still very simple. It was related to no buildings and was not connected with the side walls of the Great Wall. At this time, the Ming Dynasty still had seven guards outside Jiayuguan, including Hami and Shazhou. However, with the rise and expansion of Tulufan, in the fifth year of Hongzhi (1493), the seven garrisons in the western part of the Pass were successively destroyed by Tulufan, and the vast areas including Dunhuang, an important town on the Silk Road, were abandoned by the Ming court. Jiayuguan became the frontier of the Ming Dynasty in the northwest frontier, and the Ming government began to build Jiayuguan. At the west gate of the castle, we built a solid heavy pass and the upper floor of the pass building, raised the old city wall to three feet and five feet, built the surrounding Luocheng, and built trenches and other fortifications. In the first year of Zhengde (1506), abbot Wang Zhen built the east and west second floors of Jiayuguan Pass, and added 6 corner piers and 2 enemy platforms. At the same time, he built official halls, Yi factories, warehouses and other buildings in the city. People at that time praised the pass city“ It is a grand sight, and you can see it clearly from hundreds of places

The photographer of this group is Morrison, whose full name is George· Ernest· George Ernest Morrison (February 4, 1862 – May 30, 1920) was the chief reporter of The Times in China (1897-1912)

Before and after 1910, Morrison investigated the northwest of China and took a large number of old Chinese photos. This group of photos was taken by the author from March 21-22, 1910

今天分享一组1910年甘肃山海关老照片给大家，让我们一览这天下第一雄关山海关伟丽雄姿。

明洪武五年(1372年)，太祖朱元璋派兵远征朔漠，并于当年七月开始筹备兴建嘉峪关，逐年陆续增筑。初修嘉峪关时，建置还很简单，有关无楼，也没有与长城的边墙相联结。此时的明朝尚在嘉峪关外置有哈密、沙州等关西七卫。但是随着土鲁番的兴起和扩展，弘治五年（1493年），关西七卫相继被土鲁番所破，包括丝路重镇敦煌在内的广大地区被明廷所弃。嘉峪关成为明朝在西北边疆的边关前线，明廷开始增建嘉峪关。在城堡西门外建筑坚固的重关和关楼上层，将旧城墙加高为三丈五尺，增修外围罗城，添筑了堑壕等防御工事。正德元年（1506年），王振住持修建了嘉峪关东西二楼，并添筑角墩6座、敌台2座，同时在城内有修建了官厅、夷厂、仓库等建筑。当时的人们称赞这座关城“望之四达，足壮伟观，百外了然在目”。

本组照片的拍摄者为莫理循，莫理循全名乔治·厄内斯特·莫理循（George Ernest Morrison，1862年2月4日－1920年5月30日），曾任《泰晤士报》驻华首席记者（1897-1912）。

1910年前后，莫理循在中国西北地区考察，拍摄了大量中国老照片，本组照片为作者1910年3月21-22日拍摄。

图片[1]-Old photos of Jiayuguan in 1910-China Archive