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61-540: Yanmen Pass , also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan , is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China . The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, controlling access between the valleys of central Shanxi and the Eurasian Steppe . This made it the scene of various important battles, extending into World War II , and

122-491: A homestead near Gardendale, Alabama , the United States Department of Agriculture constructed experimental rammed-earth edifices with architect Thomas Hibben. The houses were inexpensively constructed and were sold to the public along with sufficient land for gardens and small plots for livestock. The project successfully provided homes to low-income families. The US Agency for International Development

183-531: A nearby mountainside, as with the Eisenhower Tunnel bypassing Loveland Pass in the Rockies, to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only flat ground in the area, and may be a high vantage point. In some cases this makes it a preferred site for buildings. If a national border follows the ridge of a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on

244-786: A style of street racing which may take place on these roads. There are thousands of named passes around the world, some of which are well-known, such as the Khyber Pass close to the present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the ancient Silk Road , the Great St. Bernard Pass at 2,473 metres (8,114 ft) in the Alps , the Chang La at 5,360 metres (17,590 ft), the Khardung La at 5,359 metres (17,582 ft) in Ladakh , India and

305-439: A wall is complete, it is sufficiently strong to immediately remove the formwork. This is necessary if a surface texture is to be applied, e.g., by wire brushing , carving, or mold impression because the walls become too hard to work after approximately one hour. The compressive strength of rammed earth increases as it cures. Cement-stabilized rammed earth is cured for a minimum period of 28 days. In modern rammed earth buildings,

366-403: Is about 20 kilometers (10 mi) from the county seat Shangguan (Daixian) and about 180 kilometers (110 mi) northeast of the provincial capital Taiyuan . Once far distant, it now lies near the outskirts of the expanding metropolis of Datong to its northeast. King Yong of Zhao (posthumously known as the "Wuling" or "Martial-and-Numinous King") invaded and conquered the lands of

427-667: Is also a material for sculptures , usually small and made in molds . It has been especially used in Central Asia and Tibetan art , and sometimes in China. Edifices formed of rammed earth are found on every continent except Antarctica , in a range of environments including temperate , wet, semiarid desert , montane , and tropical regions. The availability of suitable soil and a building design appropriate for local climatic conditions are two factors that make its use favourable. The French term "pisé de terre" or "terre pisé"

488-888: Is also used, particularly in Europe. In the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas, passes are denoted by the suffix "La" in Tibetan, Ladhakhi, and several other regional languages. Examples are the Taglang La at 5,328 m (17,480 ft) on the Leh-Manali highway , and the Sia La at 5,589 m (18,337 ft) in the Eastern Karakoram range. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach (anglicised "balloch"), while Wales has

549-413: Is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface , with a saddle point marking the minimum high point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map , passes can be identified by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) between the summit and

610-482: Is connected to the county seat Daixian by bus. The main fortification is about 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) outside of town, reached by walking or shuttle bus. The general inconvenience of transportation to the site means that it is less crowded than other well-known sites along the wall. The Battle of Yanmen Pass is an important moment in the Chinese legends , folktales , and plays collectively known as The Generals of

671-771: Is the Brenner pass in the Alps . Some mountain passes above the tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, which will make snow blow off the road. There are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West , the word gap is common in the southern Appalachians , notch in parts of New England , and saddle in northern Idaho . The term col , derived from Old French,

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732-731: Is working with developing countries to improve the engineering of rammed-earth houses. It also financed the authorship of the Handbook of Rammed Earth by Texas A&M University and the Texas Transportation Institute . Interest in rammed earth declined after World War II when the cost of modern construction materials decreased. Rammed earth is considered substandard, and is opposed by many contractors, engineers, and tradesmen. The prevailing perception that such materials and techniques perform poorly in regions prone to earthquakes has prevented their use in much of

793-792: The Gouzhu or Yanmen Mountains (a western extension of the Hengshan Range ) between the Sanggan River (or Datong ) Basin and the Hutuo River (or Xin ding ) Basin. The mountains form a natural climatic border , as well, with the Hutuo Valley's milder climate supporting rice cultivation and the Sanggan's colder and drier climate and more saline soil being less conducive to Chinese agriculture . The village of Yanmenguan

854-561: The Loufan ( t   樓煩 , s   楼烦 , Lóufán ) and " forest nomads " ( 林 胡 , Línhú ) tribes of modern northern Shanxi in 306 and 304   BC. He organized these conquests as the commanderies of Yunzhong , Yanmen , and Dai and, by around 300   BC, had begun erecting earthen defensive works to protect his new holdings from other nomads from the Eurasian steppelands . Although Zhao's Yanmen Commandery

915-606: The Ming and Qing , however, these were reckoned as the Outer Three Passes ( t 外三關 , s 外三关 , Wàisānguān ) based on their greater distance from the capital at Beijing , contrasted with the "Inner Three Passes" at Juyong , Zijing , and Daoma . The Zhenbian Hall is a temple to Li Mu , a Zhao general, beside the Tianxian Gate. It has also been used by local Buddhists since 1856, when

976-870: The Ming , it was reconstructed as part of the Inner Great Wall in 1374 and these are the defensive works seen today. It is one of the few stone stretches of the wall left in Shanxi. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (the Chinese theater of World War II ), He Bingyan led the 716th Regiment of his 358th Brigade of He Long 's 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army in an ambush the Imperial Japanese Army forces at Yanmen Pass on 18 October 1937 as part of

1037-594: The Palakkad Gap at 140 metres (460 ft) in Palakkad , Kerala , India . The roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres (18,410 ft) and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres (18,314 ft), on and near the China–India border respectively, appear to be world's two highest motorable passes. Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China at 4,693 metres (15,397 ft) is also a high-altitude motorable mountain pass. One of

1098-609: The United States . Six of the 27 dependencies and portions of the main house were constructed using this ancient technique which was introduced to this country in 1806 through the book Rural Economy , by S. W. Johnson An outstanding example of a rammed-earth edifice in Canada is St. Thomas Anglican Church in Shanty Bay , Ontario , erected between 1838 and 1841. From the 1920s through the 1940s rammed-earth construction in

1159-501: The Ushiromiya Division to push He's men further north. Following the war, Yanmen Pass was reckoned as part of the boundary of China's " Third Front ", which was used by national authorities in planning infrastructure investment and military defenses. Yanmen Township was created in 2001 from the merger of parts of some of Dai County's smaller settlements, particularly Shangtian and Baicaokou . The Yanmen Pass Scenic Area

1220-400: The formwork to a depth of 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in) and then compacted to approximately 50% of its original volume. The soil is compacted iteratively in batches or courses so as to gradually erect the wall up to the top of the formwork. Tamping was historically manual with a long ramming pole by hand, but modern construction systems can employ pneumatically -powered tampers. After

1281-515: The monk Shan Quan began holding services there. There is a temple to Guan Yu , the Chinese god of war , beside the Dili Gate. There was also a frontier market between Yanmenguan Village and the Dili Gate. A flagstone path called "Frontier Trade Street" continues to be lined with hostels and various shops for tourists. Statues of the generals of the Yang Clan line one of the pathways of

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1342-544: The proletarian spirit of on-site construction using rammed earth. The Communist Party promoted the use of rammed earth construction as a low-cost method which was indigenous to China and required little technical skill. During the Third Front campaign to develop strategic industries in China's rugged interior to prepare for potential invasion by the United States or Soviet Union, Planning Commission Director Li Fuchun instructed project leaders to make do with what

1403-411: The topsoil for agriculture. When the soil excavated in preparation for a foundation can be used, the cost and energy consumption of transportation are minimal. Rammed earth is probably the least environmentally detrimental construction material and technique that is readily and commercially available today to construct solid edifices. Rammed earth has potentially low manufacturing impact, contingent on

1464-692: The 1800s, rammed earth was popularized in the United States by the book Rural Economy by S. W. Johnson. The technique was used to construct the Borough House Plantation and the Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg, South Carolina , both being National Historic Landmarks . Constructed in 1821, the Borough House Plantation complex contains the oldest and largest collection of 'high style' pise de terre (rammed earth) buildings in

1525-483: The US was studied. South Dakota State College extensively researched and constructed almost one hundred weathering walls of rammed earth. For over 30 years the college investigated the use of paints and plasters in relation to colloids in soil. In 1943, Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina published the results of their research of rammed earth in a pamphlet titled "Rammed Earth Building Construction". In 1936, on

1586-469: The Xiongnu left in the area, taking control of the entire Ordos Loop . 100,000 Chinese were sent to colonize the area. In 127   BC, the Xiongnu defeated and killed the governor of Liaoxi ; Han Anguo ( t   韓 安 國 , s   韩 安 国 , Hán Ānguó ) tried to hold them near Yanmen with 700 men but was defeated and forced to withdraw to Yuyang . Wei Qing and Li Xi returned to

1647-473: The Yang Family . Likewise, because of its strategic importance to ancient and medieval China, Yanmen Pass and its fortifications feature prominently in some Chinese historical fiction novels, including Louis Cha 's Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils , and films, including Daniel Lee 's 14 Blades . Mountain pass Mountain passes make use of a gap , saddle , col or notch . A topographic saddle

1708-443: The amount of cement and the amount that is locally sourced; it is often quarried aggregates rather than "earth". Rammed earth can contribute to the overall energy efficiency of edifices: the density, thickness, and thermal conductivity of rammed earth render it an especially suitable material for passive solar heating. Warmth requires almost 12 hours to be conducted through a wall 35 cm (14 in) thick. Mixing cement with

1769-645: The area around the gatehouses and this stretch of the Great Wall is now a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction . The scenic area is located just outside Yanmenguan   Village in Yanmenguan   Township in Dai County , Xinzhou City , Shanxi Province , China . Yanmen Pass, sometimes translated in English to Wild Goose Pass or Wildgoose Gate , is named after the wild geese who migrate through

1830-643: The area in force, capturing some Xiongnu and forcing the rest to withdraw beyond the frontier. The Ban clan ultimately left the tumultuous area and used their accumulated wealth to rise to prominence among the officials of the Eastern Han by the 1st century   AD. A line of the Great Wall was finally built through the pass by the Northern Qi in AD   557. It was part of a massive public works project involving more than 1.8 million laborers ordered by

1891-592: The area. Yànménguān is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese placename written as 雁門關 or 鴈門關 in traditional characters and as 雁门关 in the simplified characters now used in mainland China . The same name was formerly written as Yen-mên-kuan in the Wade-Giles system and as Yenmen Pass by the Chinese Post Office . Yanmen is a pass in

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1952-458: The border, and there may be a border control or customs station, and possibly a military post. For instance, Argentina and Chile share the world's third-longest international border , 5,300 kilometres (3,300 mi) long, which runs north–south along the Andes mountains and includes 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a small roadside sign giving the name of

2013-599: The central gate is Yanmen proper, and the eastern gate is Tianxian ("Impregnable Fortress"). They are open to the public from 8   am to 6:30   pm. The fortifications in the Yanmen Pass form part of the defenses of the " inner line " of the Great Wall , along with the Ningwu ( t 寧武關 , s 宁武关 , Níngwǔguān ) and Pian ( t 偏關 , s 偏关 , Piānguān ) or Piantou Passes ( t 偏頭關 , s 偏头关 , Piāntóuguān ). Under

2074-1029: The colour and texture of natural earth. Moisture-impermeable finishes, such as cement render , are not used by some people because they impair the ability of a wall to desorb moisture, which quality is necessary to preserve its strength. Blemishes can be repaired using the soil mixture as a plaster and sanded smooth. The thickness varies widely based on region and code. It can be as little as 6 inches (150 mm) for non load-bearing walls and up to 24 inches (600 mm) for load-bearing walls . The thickness and density of rammed-earth walls make them suitable for soundproofing . They are also inherently fireproof , resistant to termite damage, and non-toxic. Edifices of rammed earth are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than other building techniques that use more cement and other chemicals. Because rammed-earth edifices use locally available materials, they usually have low embodied energy and generate very little waste. The soils used are typically subsoil which conserve

2135-628: The cost of standard frame houses. Rammed earth works require at least one skilled person for quality control. All other workers can be unskilled or semi-skilled. One significant benefit of rammed earth is its high thermal mass : like brick or concrete , it absorbs heat during the day and releases heat at night. This action moderates daily temperature variations and reduces the need for air conditioning and heating . In colder climates, rammed-earth walls can be insulated by inserting insulation such as styrofoam or rigid fibreglass panels within internal and external layers of rammed earth. Depending on

2196-526: The emperor Gao Yang (posthumously known as the "Wenxuan" or "Civil-&-Responsible Emperor"), intended to protect his realm from the inimical Northern Zhou . As with the later Ming Great Wall , the Northern Qi's Yanmen wall formed an inner line of defense; it was repaired and expanded in 565. Despite its strong defenses, the state itself fell into chaos and was consumed by the Northern Zhou in

2257-534: The famous but non-motorable mountain passes is Thorong La at 5,416 metres (17,769 ft) in Annapurna Conservation Area , Nepal. Rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth , chalk , lime , or gravel . It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method . Under its French name of pisé it

2318-513: The first emperor of the Sui . The Sui (581–618) rulers regarded the Great Wall as an essential line of defense and ordered large-scale repairs 7 times, but their successors the Tang (618–907) expanded China far to its north , and allowed it to fall into disuse and decay. Following the collapse of the later Tang and its short-lived successor later Han of Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, most of

2379-577: The fortress at Baicao Lingkou. The victory killed the Khitan emperor 's brother-in-law Xiao Chuoli ( t   蕭 啜 裏 , s   萧 啜 里 , Xiāo Chuòlǐ ), won Song innumerable horses and war equipment, and secured its new conquests and northern border. Under the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty , the great khan nominally controlled the peoples on both sides of the wall and its fortifications were fallen into disrepair. Under

2440-577: The frontier around Yanmen. The markets were not always safe: In the fall of 129   BC, 40,000 horsemen of the Han Empire massacred the Xiongnu trading at markets along the frontier; (The heavy defeats of Li Guang and Gongsun Ao near Yanmen, however, had them narrowly escape execution through the payment of large fines and their demotion to common status.) The next year or the year after, Wei Qing and 30,000 men rode north from Yanmen and defeated

2501-569: The gap between town and country, (2) the gap between workers and peasants, and (3) the gap between manual and mental labor. Drawing on the Daqing experience, China encouraged rammed earth construction in the mid-1960s. Starting in 1964, Mao Zedong advocated for a "mass design revolution movement". In the context of the Sino-Soviet split , Mao urged that planners should avoid the use of Soviet-style prefabricated materials and instead embrace

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2562-663: The lands around Shanxi were controlled from Taiyuan by Liu Chong as the Northern Han . Zhao Kuangyin (posthumously known as "Emperor Taizu" or "the Great Ancestor") unified most of China proper as the Song Empire prior to his death in 976, and his younger brother and successor Zhao Jiong (posthumously "Emperor Taizong", also meaning "the Great Ancestor") invaded the Northern Han in 978 and conquered it

2623-639: The large compressing forces. Formwork plays an important role in building rammed earth walls. Historically, wooden planks tied using rope were used to build walls. Modern builders use plywood and/or steel to build formwork. The compressive strength of rammed earth is dictated by factors such as soil type, particle size distribution, amount of compaction, moisture content of the mix and type/amount of stabiliser used. Well-produced cement-stabilised rammed earth walls can be anywhere between 5 and 20 MPa (700 and 3,000 psi) . Higher compressive strength might require more cement. But addition of more cement can affect

2684-547: The late 570s. The retired emperor Yuwen Chan (posthumously known as the "Xuan" or "Responsible Emperor"), acting on behalf of his young successor Yuwen Yun (posthumously the "Jing" or "Silent Emperor"), refortified the wall between Yanmen and Jieshi in 579 to protect Northern China from the Blue Turks and the Khitans . Upon Yuwen Chan's death in 580, his father-in-law Yang Jian seized power, eventually declaring himself

2745-710: The more engineered and processed variant of rammed earth has the potential for significant emissions. Evidence of ancient use of rammed earth has been found in Neolithic archaeological sites such as those of the Fertile Crescent , dating to the 9th–7th millennium BC, and of the Yangshao and Longshan cultures in China , dating to 5000 BCE. By 2000 BCE, rammed-earth architectural techniques (夯土 Hāng tǔ ) were commonly used for walls and foundations in China . In

2806-434: The mountain is defined as a mountain pass. Passes are often found just above the source of a river , constituting a drainage divide . A pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or a valley many kilometers long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying . Roads and railways have long been built through passes. Some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath

2867-577: The next year. In 980, roughly 100,000 nomad horsemen of the Khitan Empire (known to the Chinese as the Liao) invaded Shanxi under their general Li Chonghui ( t   李 重 誨 , s   李 重 诲 , Lǐ Chónghuì ) and on behalf of their defeated allies. Arriving before Yanmen, Li and his men were encircled and catastrophically defeated by the Song generals Yang Ye and Pan Mei outside

2928-477: The ongoing battles of Xinkou . The regiment killed 300 Japanese and destroyed 20 vehicles, then held the area as part of an attempt to cut Japanese lines of supply and communication as they pushed forward to Taiyuan . There was also a skirmish during the night of 20 October, then an assault on a second supply column the next day. This supposedly took out around 200 Japanese and "hundreds" of vehicles. The Japanese were then obliged to begin air assaults and dedicate

2989-479: The pass and its elevation above mean sea level . Apart from offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide a route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass; this often makes them convenient routes even when travelling between a summit and the valley floor. Passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example

3050-547: The permeability of the walls. Indeed, properly constructed rammed earth endures for thousands of years, as many ancient structures that are still standing around the world demonstrate. Rammed earth walls are reinforced with rebars in areas of high seismic activity . Adding cement to soil mixtures low in clay can also increase the load-bearing capacity of rammed-earth edifices. The United States Department of Agriculture observed in 1925 that rammed-earth structures endure indefinitely and can be constructed for less than two-thirds of

3111-487: The reign of the First Emperor of Qin (221–210   BC), a Chu noble named Ban Yi ( 斑 or 班 壹 , Bān Yī ) fled north to the Loufan near Yanmen. By the early Han Dynasty , his clan had grown rich through herding and trading thousands of heads of cattle and horses, to the point that they may have formed a microstate of their own. The example of their success encouraged greater Chinese settlement of

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3172-578: The similar bwlch (both being insular Celtic languages). In the Lake District of north-west England, the term hause is often used, although the term pass is also common—one distinction is that a pass can refer to a route, as well as the highest part thereof, while a hause is simply that highest part, often flattened somewhat into a high-level plateau. In Japan they are known as tōge , which means "pass" in Japanese. The word can also refer to narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around mountains and geographically similar areas, or specifically to

3233-552: The site. The ruins of Guangwu , the former county seat for the area, are nearby. Its remains include Han-era tombs in mounds 2–10 meters (6 ft 7 in – 32 ft 10 in) high. They were excavated by Japanese archaeologists in the early 20th century and have been studied by the Chinese in the 1980s; a tomb robber around that time was caught and exposed that the mounds were not for local elites but for group burial in urns . The Datong–Yuncheng Expressway runs through part of Yanmen Pass. The village of Yanmenguan

3294-463: The soil can counteract sustainable benefits such as low embodied energy because manufacture of the cement itself creates 1.25 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement produced. Although it has low greenhouse gas emissions in theory, transportation and the production of cement can add significantly to the overall emissions of modern rammed earth construction. The most basic kind of traditional rammed earth has very low greenhouse gas emissions but

3355-481: The type and content of binder, it must also be protected from heavy rain and insulated with vapour barriers. Rammed earth can effectively regulate humidity if unclad walls containing clay are exposed to an internal space. Humidity is regulated between 40% and 60%. The material mass and clay content of rammed earth allows an edifice to breathe more than concrete edifices. This avoids problems of condensation and prevents significant loss of heat. Rammed-earth walls have

3416-425: The walls are constructed on top of conventional footings or a reinforced concrete slab base. The construction of an entire wall begins with a temporary frame, the "formwork", which is usually made of wood or plywood, as a mold for each wall section's desired shape and dimensions. The form must be durable and well-braced, and the two opposing faces must be clamped together to prevent bulging or deformation caused by

3477-400: The world. In Chile , for example, rammed earth edifices normally cannot be conventionally insured against damage or even be approved by the government. A notable example of 21st-century use of rammed earth is the façade of the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre in southern British Columbia , Canada. As of 2014 it is the longest rammed earth wall in North America . Rammed earth construction

3538-435: Was both practically and ideologically important during the rapid construction of the Daqing oil field and the related development of Daqing . The "Daqing Spirit" represented deep personal commitment in pursuing national goals, self-sufficient and frugal living, and urban-rural integrated land use. Daqing's urban-rural landscape was said to embody the ideal communist society described by Karl Marx because it eliminated (1)

3599-438: Was named a AAAAA attraction by the China National Tourism Administration in 2017. Yanmenguan Township oversees Yanmenguan and 27 other villages : Yanmen was formerly reckoned as the first of the "Nine Passes under Heaven ". The preserved Ming fortifications are about 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) long and 4 meters (13 ft) high. It includes three fortified gatehouses. The western gate is called Dili ("Chosen Battleground"),

3660-411: Was named after the pass, whose premodern importance for accessing the valleys of central Shanxi caused it to be scene of many battles throughout Chinese history , the ramparts raised under King Yong did not run through it but along the northern extent of his territory closer to today Hohhot in Inner Mongolia . Yanmen itself was defended, but by a fort and garrison on a local hill. At some point during

3721-412: Was sometimes used in English for architectural uses, especially in the 19th century. Making rammed earth involves compacting a damp mixture of subsoil that has suitable proportions of sand , gravel , clay , silt , and stabilizer if any, into a formwork (an externally supported frame or mold). Historically, additives such as lime or animal blood were used to stabilize it. Soil mix is poured into

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