Chinese: 阳方口
Pinyin: Yáng fāng kǒu
English: Towards the sun pass
Coordinates: 39°5'53"N 112°19'55"E
Yangfangkou is located along Shanxi Province's inner wall, about 48 kilometers (30 miles) to the west of Yanmenguan.
At the center of town are the walls of a large fortress built in the Ming Dynasty. Many of the walls and corners of this fortress are still well-preserved today.
The Great Wall extends from Yangfangkou to the west for about 88 kilometers (55 miles) to join with the outer wall to the east of Laoniuwan. Immediately outside of Yangfangkou, on the south side of the wall, is the site of a Ming Dynasty fortress. About 5.1 kilometers (3.2 miles) further to the east, at Dashuikou, is another. There are many beacon towers situated at high points on both the north and south sides of the wall. The towers attached to the wall are very numerous in this area, sometimes as close together as 100 meters (328 feet). They typically extend from the wall for some 16 meters (52 feet) into enemy territory and are about 8 meters (26.5 feet) wide.
To the east of Yangfangkou, the wall extends for about 60 kilometers (37 miles) towards Yanmenguan. Towers along the wall are frequent for a distance of about 5.3 kilometers (3.3 miles), after which they diminish.
Fortifications around Yangfangkou are extremely robust. The remaining walls are often more than ten meters (33 feet) high. The walls and towers are in good condition for the most part. It's often possible to walk atop them, and when it's not, it's usually relatively easy to walk alongside them as well.
Location summary: Yangfangkou is about 360 kilometers (224 miles) west of downtown Beijing and about 137 kilometers (85 miles) southwest of Datong.
Driving directions: From Datong, drive south on G55 for about 84.5 kilometers (52.5 miles) from the ring road. Turn right (west) onto Shouzhou Branch Line and drive west for about 32 kilometers (20 miles) to Shoucheng. From Shoucheng, drive south on S206 about 21 kilometers (13 miles) from the south ring road to Yangfangkouzhen.