Shandan Horse Ranch Scenic Area 山丹军马场正规开放旅游区

About Shandan Horse Ranch Scenic Area

The tourist area lies in the middle of the Hexi Corridor on the north slope of the Qilian Mountains' Lenglongling range, straddling Gansu and Qinghai and, as the county government puts it, bordering three prefectures and six counties. It holds a national AAA-grade tourist attraction designation. The county government calls Shandan horse ranch the world's oldest and largest horse ranch; the Shandan feature carried by China Gansu Web calls it the horse ranch with the longest history.

The county government dates the ranch's founding to 121 BCE, when, after defeating the Xiongnu, the Han general Huo Qubing ordered troops to settle and horses to be raised there and became its first superintendent. The Shandan feature sets out the campaign in more detail — Huo Qubing leading ten thousand horsemen out through Longxi, past Yanzhi Mountain and the Hanyang grassland to the western end of the Qilian Mountains — and records that horses were already being kept and troops stationed there more than 3,000 years ago, that in Qin times the area was Yuezhi pasture before the Xiongnu king Hunye took it, and that from Wei-Jin through Sui and Tang it remained an imperial horse-breeding ground.

The ranch's own breed gives the place its name: the Shandan horse is a dual-purpose cross of Mongolian and Don horses, formally named in 1984. The county government names three principal viewpoints — the Qiji Jiangjun camp, built on the model of Huo Qubing's encampment; the Luanniao Lake viewing platform; and the Huaixi small town, converted from the ranch headquarters, with detached timber cabins set among flower fields. The Shandan feature places Luanniao Lake alongside the Kulong gorge, the Dahuang gully and the greater and lesser Xiang gullies, describing flowing water, jagged rocks and tall old trees.

The grassland has also served as a filming location. The Shandan feature says more than 30 films and television productions have been shot there and lists 牧马人, 蒙根花, 文成公主, 王昭君, 和平年代 and 红色康拜因 among them.

What to look for

• The Qiji Jiangjun camp (骠骑将军营), built on the model of Huo Qubing's military encampment
• Luanniao Lake (鸾鸟湖) and its viewing platform, which the county page describes as setting off the grassland and snow peaks
• The Huaixi small town (槐溪小镇), converted from the ranch headquarters and set out with detached timber cabins among flower fields
• The Shandan horse itself, a Mongolian-Don cross formally named in 1984 and bred at the ranch
• The Kulong gorge and the Dahuang and greater and lesser Xiang gullies, which the Shandan feature describes as having flowing water, jagged rocks and tall old trees

Location & getting there

Getting to Shandan Horse Ranch Scenic Area

Confirm the road and activity operator, weather and return transport. Stay on permitted routes and do not treat open land as unrestricted access.

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