Established as a garrison town along the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty, Yulin (Yúlín, 榆林) saw a bump in development in modern times after the discovery of the massive Shenmu-Fugu coalfield. The town revolves mostly around the extraction of its resources—in addition to coal, natural gas and salt are extracted.
Its relatively late development and remoteness have helped Yulin maintain many of its historic areas. Old city walls still surround parts of the city, and the old town area—centered on the main pedestrian street, Bei Dajie/Nan Dajie (北大街/南大街)—still offers a number of old buildings including the Xiangyun Temple (Xiāngyún Sì, 香云寺) and Daixing Temple (Dàixīng Sì, 戴兴寺) in addition to restaurants and shopping.
Outside of town, a decayed, but under renovation portion of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall joins sections of older walls winding through the desert landscape. The Zhenbei Tower, the largest such tower on the great wall, was built here to oversee trading between Han Chinese and Mongolians. Not far away, grottoes and ancient carvings line the wall of the Red Stone Gorge.
Climate
With the Ordos Desert encroaching from the north and northwest, shrubs have been planted around Yulin to stave off continued desertification. Similar to the rest of Shaanxi Province, summers are hot and surprisingly humid, but cool off at night. Winter gets considerably colder.
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To and from Yulin
Air
For those traveling into Yulin from farther away, flying into Yulin Airport (榆林机场) may be best option. Flights to Yulin arrive from Beijing, Xi'an, Taiyuan and a number of other cities.
Train
Yulin Train Station (榆林火车站) is on the west side of town past the airport. Trains run from Xi'an, Shanghai (via Yan'an) and Beijing (via Baotou East Station).
Bus
The Yulin Bus Station (榆林汽车站) has regular buses to Beijing and Xi'an. The bus station is just inside the city wall near the south gate. Buses to Baotou depart from the regional bus station (客运站) on the north side of town.
Shaanxi guide | Yulin attractions | Yulin flights
Yulin hotels