Get to know Yuyang District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Yulin
- Chinese name
- 榆阳区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 7,053.00 km²
- Population · 2019
- 575,100
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The district government gives its area as 7,053 square kilometres and uses the Ming Great Wall as the dividing line between two landscapes. North of the wall is wind-blown sand and grassland, about three quarters of the district. South of it lies loess country of hills and gullies, making up the remaining quarter.
History
Under the Shang the area was home to the Guifang (鬼方) people. In 328 BC the state of Wei handed fifteen towns of Shang Commandery (上郡) to Qin, and the land came under Fushi County (肤施县).
Under the Ming, Yulin became a frontier post: a garrison company (榆林千户所) was set up in 1376, the Yulin Guard (榆林卫) in 1471, and in 1473 the headquarters of the Yansui frontier command (延绥镇) moved here from Suide (绥德). Yulin County became the county-level city of Yulin in 1988. When prefecture-level Yulin was created in 2000, the old county-level city was renamed Yuyang District.
What to see
The city wall of Yulin was listed as a Shaanxi protected site in 1992, and the Yulin Guard City (榆林卫城) as a whole became a national key protected site in 2006. The district government reports that Yulin Old Town (榆林古城) and the Confucius Temple pedestrian street (夫子庙步行街) have been named national tourism and leisure blocks, and that it has opened Lingxiao Park (凌霄公园), which it describes as carrying the city's historical memory.
Zhenbeitai (镇北台) stands 5 kilometres north of Yulin city. It was listed by Shaanxi in 1992 and, as part of the Great Wall, became a national key protected site in 2001. In the countryside, the district government names Zhenchuan (镇川镇) among three towns recognised as provincial tourism towns, and counts four 4A and eight 3A scenic areas in the district.
Highlights
- Yulin Guard City 榆林卫城: Walled town of Yulin; national key protected site since 2006.
- Zhenbeitai 镇北台: Great Wall site 5 km north of Yulin city; national key protected site since 2001.
- Confucius Temple pedestrian street 夫子庙步行街: Named, with Yulin Old Town, a national tourism and leisure block.
Sources for this guide
榆阳区情简介 · Yuyang District People's Government, Yulin
榆阳区 - 维基百科 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
镇北台 - 维基百科 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
榆林卫城 - 维基百科 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Yuyang District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Yuyang District
An elevated view over 榆林's old town: a long grey brick city wall with a crenellated parapet and a bastion sweeping across the middle distance, a gate tower with a double-eaved grey roof rising behind it, a street of traditional roofs with further tower-like structures receding into the town, modern apartment blocks and office towers around the edges, a road with cars, pedestrians and blossom trees at the lower left and a wooded riverbank at the right under a clear pale sky.Yulin Ancient City榆林古城
Yulin Old City is the walled Ming garrison town in Yuyang District, Yulin, in northern Shaanxi; the district's own heritage page presents it under the name Yulin Guard City (榆林卫城). Construction began in the early Hongwu years of the Ming dynasty, around 1370, and the town became a key stronghold in the Ming 'nine frontier' defence system.
Read the place guide →
Hongshi Gorge canyon with its river, stone bridge and cliffside caves, Yuyang District, Yulin · 榆林市榆阳区红石峡，峡谷、河道与崖壁石窟全景 Source-recorded photograph date: 2010-04-24 14:05.Hongshi Gorge红石峡
Hongshixia (红石峡), formerly called Xiongshixia (雄石峡), is a gorge of red rock north of Yulin's city area in Yuyang District, Shaanxi, at the mouth of the Ming Great Wall. Its east and west cliffs hold cave shrines and a dense body of carved inscriptions that the district's heritage page calls the 塞上碑林.
Read the place guide →
Zhenbeitai Great Wall tower. Photograph date recorded by the source: 2024-06-27.Zhenbeitai Great Wall Tower镇北台
Zhenbeitai is the large stepped Ming watchtower on Hongshan north of Yulin. Built in 1607–1608, it overlooked both frontier defence and the nearby trading activity of the border region. The tower’s broad platforms make its…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Yuyang District is about 10 km in a straight line from central Yulin. Search for 榆阳区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Yulin Ancient City and Hongshi Gorge are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Yulin →More in Yulin
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 榆阳区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 镇北台 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 榆林卫城 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Yulin Ancient City · 申威隆 · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Hongshi Gorge · Caitriana Nicholson from 北京 ~ Beijing, 中国 ~ China · CC BY-SA 2.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
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Photo: Zhenbeitai Great Wall Tower · Ghrkya · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.