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Sanguankou. Sanguankou (the triple pass) is also called Chimukou. It is located in the middle part of the Helan Mountain. Its northeastern part is about 40 kilometers to Yinchuan. The Yinchuan-Bayanhaote Highway passes through there. On the He Lan Mountain Range running hundreds li there are many passes, among which Sanguankou is the most noted one. The complete Helan Mountain is precipitous all the way except for the section of Sanguankou where the terrain abruptly turns open and flat. It has been the artery from the Alax Plateau to the Ningxia Plain since ancient times. The Ming Regime attached great importance to its defense. It is recorded that once more than 4000 soldiers were sent for its construction, and there was a guerilla general usually stationed there.
In 1531 an 80 kilometer long section of Great Wall starting from Dababao in the south to Sanguankou in the north was built. Since the construction was too simple, it was filled and leveled up by sands blown by wind afterwards. In 1540 Censor Yang Shouli and Garrison Commander Ren Jie directed the reconstruction, during which Sanguankou and its northern section were newly built. There were many triple passes along the Great Wall in order to enhance the defensive capability. From east to west there are three passes in Sanguankou. The first pass is the chief pass. Its southern and northern parts are connected with the chief rampart of the Great Wall. The rammed earth rampart starts from the north side of the mountain and goes southward after traversing the pass. The second pass is about 2.5 kilometers to the south of the first pass. Today there is only a rammed earth platform on the hilltop to the south of the pass. Passing through the second pass and going westward, the valley becomes narrower and at a distance of about 2.5 kilometers it will reduce to a narrow pass confined by cliffs on both sides. That strategic place was the third pass. During the construction of the Yinchuan-Bayan Highway, the last ruins of the pass were given up. When constructing the Great Wall in the past, Sanguankou had been a desert, full of sands and earth scarcely seen. Officers and soldiers had tried their best to seek earth from the nearby mountains and valleys. Another lack was water, so hundreds of water wagons were built and water was carried to the building site from Pingjibao over 20 kilometers to Sanguankou.
