Youyu National Eco-Tourism Demonstration Zone

Youyu National Eco-Tourism Demonstration Zone

The Youyu National Eco-Tourism Demonstration Zone is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The "Xikou" (Western Pass) in the folk song "Going West" is located here. The northwestern and northern parts of Youyu County are bordered by the ancient Great Wall, adjacent to Liangcheng and Linhe Counties in Inner Mongolia. Since ancient times, it has been a strategic stronghold in northern China, serving as the main gateway and customs checkpoint between the Central Plains and Mongolia. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, this area was continuously occupied by northern ethnic minorities. Ancient castles can be seen everywhere within the county, beacon towers stand along the mountain ridges, and the natural landscape is also spectacular, earning it the name "Grassland Beyond the Great Wall." It is an ideal destination for leisure vacations and horseback riding. Youyu County is a national eco-demonstration zone, recognized by the United Nations as one of the best livable ecological counties, and is known as the "Hometown of Ancient Castles in China" and the "Charming Small City of China." It is the only national AAAA-level scenic area in Shanxi named after a county, and is the most recommended tourist county to the world. Xikou refers to the famous scenic spot of Shakou Pass, located at the junction of Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, backed by the ancient Great Wall to the north and facing the Cangtou River to the west, with a history of over two thousand years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shakou Pass was a major thoroughfare for Shanxi merchants, and it is the birthplace of the once-thriving trading firm "Dashengkui." At the height of the Qing Dynasty, customs duties reached "a bushel of gold and a bushel of silver" per day. The ancient Great Wall here is majestic and well-preserved, as are the intact Shakou Fort, the continuous beacon towers, the desolate ancient battlefields, and the clearly discernible ancient bridges, roads, and music towers, all like shining pearls embedded in the land of Shakou Pass. "Going West" not only carries the glory and dreams of the Shanxi merchants but also engraves the blood, tears, and sorrow of Shanxi people migrating for survival. Shakou Pass is a microcosm of Shanxi’s history during the Ming and Qing periods and a testament to the rise and fall of modern Chinese financial trade.