• Houston
  • Jiayuguan

Houston (/ˈhjuːstən/ (listen); HEW-stən) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in 2020. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.

Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km2), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the United States (including consolidated city-counties). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands.

The city of Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's Landing. After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century.

Jiayuguan, known as "the first male pass in the world", is located in the middle of the narrowest valley 5 kilometers west of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province. the city walls on both sides of the pass cross the Gobi Desert, the suspended Great Wall of Montenegro in the north and the first pier in the south. it is the westernmost pass of the Ming Great Wall. it was once known as Hexi throat in history, because of its dangerous topography and majestic architecture, it is known as the chain key of the border. Jiayuguan is the traffic fortress of the ancient "Silk Road" and one of the three wonders of the Great Wall of China (Shanhaiguan in the east, Zhenbeitai in the middle and Jiayuguan in the west). Jiayuguan was built in the fifth year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1372). It is composed of inner city, outer city, Luocheng, Wengcheng, trench and the north and south wings of the Great Wall, with a total length of about 60 kilometers. The platform, pier and fortress of the Great Wall are dotted with three lines of defense, namely, the inner city, the outer city and the moat.
Travel Sights In Jiayuguan
Travel Notes In Jiayuguan