Menyuan Ancient City
门源古城
An ancient city site in Haimen Town, the Menyuan county seat. Listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2013, its surviving rammed-earth walls reflect the northern frontier history of the Hehuang region.
Menyuan Ancient City lies in Haimen Town, the county seat of Menyuan Hui Autonomous County. It is a remnant of garrison settlements and city building along the Haimen valley across many dynasties. It was listed as a Qinghai provincial cultural relic protection unit in 1986 and designated a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2013, in the seventh batch. What survives today is mainly sections of rammed-earth wall and the outline of the city walls. The site is modest in size and has limited interpretive displays, so it suits history enthusiasts who are staying in the county seat and passing by. A visit takes about 30 minutes. The town offers Hui snacks such as hand-grabbed mutton, niangpi (cold wheat-starch noodles) and tianpei (a fermented sweet dish). During the flower season, there are evening rapeseed festival events. Admission to the site is free. Please do not climb the walls. Getting there: the site is inside the county seat, reachable on foot or by taxi. A taxi from Menyuan Railway Station to the county seat takes about 20 minutes.
Opening hours
All day (exterior only)
Nearby sights
- Menyuan Railway Station
- Daban Mountain Viewpoint
- Menyuan Rapeseed Flower Sea
- Gangshiqia Snow Peak
- Gangshika Ski Area
- Xianmi Monastery
- Xianmi National Forest Park
- Zhugu Monastery