Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai 榆林古城·镇北台Yúlín Gǔchéng · Zhènběi Tái

Why go to Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai

Yulin, in Shaanxi's far north, was a key Ming garrison town on the Great Wall frontier. In the old town, walk the main street that passes under six towers built across it between the 15th century and 1921, several of them since rebuilt. Then take a taxi about 5 km north to Zhenbeitai, a four-tier, brick-faced watchtower more than 30 metres high on Hongshan hill.

The story

Zhenbeitai was built in 1607–1608, a generation after a Ming–Mongol peace settlement of 1571 had opened a border market at Hongshan below it. Its job was to watch over the market and the Mongol traders who came to it, and the small walled compound of that market, Kuangongcheng, survives beside the tower.

What to see at Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai

• Wenchang Pavilion 文昌阁: The southern tower of the old street, rebuilt in 2005 on the site of an 18th-century pavilion. The walk north under the six towers starts here.
• Kaige Tower 凯歌楼: One of the six towers astride the main street; part of it is used by the Yulin folk museum.
• Drum Tower 鼓楼: The northern end of the six-tower walk, rebuilt in recent years.
• Zhenbeitai 镇北台: A four-tier watchtower of over 30 metres built in 1607 on Hongshan hill to oversee the border market, faced in brick and stone. Its south and north walls carry the inscriptions Xiangming and Zhenbeitai.
• Kuangong City 款贡城: The walled site below Zhenbeitai where officials received visiting traders and tribute in the border market that opened in 1571.

How to visit Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai

Start with the old street, walking from Wenchang Pavilion in the south to the Drum Tower in the north under the six towers. Then take a taxi to Zhenbeitai, about 5 km north of the city, and climb through its tiers for the views, with Kuangong City and the Great Wall museum in the barracks on the ground floor close by. The old street takes a couple of hours; with Zhenbeitai it fills most of a day.

How to get to Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai

Trains from Xi'an take about 4.5–6 hours via Yan'an, or fly to Yulin Yuyang Airport in about an hour. Zhenbeitai is about 15 minutes by taxi north of the old town.

Where to stay

Stay in Yulin city, around the old street, which puts the six towers on foot and Zhenbeitai a short taxi ride away.

What to eat

• Buckwheat hele noodles 荞面饸饹: Noodles pressed from buckwheat dough into hot broth or served cold, the best-known snack of the Yulin region.
• Yulin tofu 榆林豆腐: A protected local product, firm tofu served in the region's stews and one of the city's well-known dishes.
• Iron-pot mutton 铁锅炖羊肉: Mutton stewed in a large iron pot, a typical northern Shaanxi meal.

Tips for visiting Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai

• Walk the main street from Wenchang Pavilion in the south to the Drum Tower in the north, about 1.5 km, to pass under all six towers.
• Just west of Zhenbeitai, Hongshixia (Red Stone Gorge) on the Yuxi River has cave shrines going back to the Song and Yuan dynasties and cliffs covered in carved inscriptions, mostly Ming and Qing.
• With a hired car, the ruins of Tongwancheng, a 5th-century capital, are about 2 hours' drive to the west.

Nearby

• Tongwancheng Ruins 统万城遗址 90 km
  Pale rammed-earth walls of a 5th-century Xiongnu capital at the edge of the Mu Us Desert
• Qikou Ancient Town and Lijiashan Village 碛口古镇·李家山村 120 km
  Stone lanes of an old Yellow River port and a hillside village of stacked cave homes

Also within 30 km: Shengdu Amusement Park 圣都乐园 (under 10 km), Northern Shaanxi Folk Song Museum 陕北民歌博物馆 (under 10 km), Mahuangliang Loess Geopark 麻黄梁黄土地质公园 (30 km).

On the map

Open Yulin Old Town and Zhenbeitai on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia: Yulin, Shaanxi