South Gate

This guide rides the ramparts of Yongning Gate, the south gate of Xi'an's city wall, tracing how the fortifications built in the thirteen seventies under the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang were meant to trap and kill any army that reached them. It follows the moat, drawbridge and barbican courtyard where defenders once caught soldiers in a crossfire from thousands of battlements, now the same route cyclists take for fun. You'll hear how the fourteen-kilometer loop compares to other city walls left in China. Rent a bike at the gate and give yourself time to feel the scale of it.