Yumen and Yumen Pass, the gateway on the Silk Road to the steppe, is a key transportation and geographical location.Yumen Dates in the Han Dynasty’s historical documents hold a mysterious aura and to some extend reflects central China’s understanding of the northwest. It becomes a symbol of a famous fruit on the Silk Road frontier. Its relations to Xiwang Dates（西王枣） and Xiwangmu Dates（西王母枣） bears witness to the historical memory on the opening of Silk Road, and such cultural phenomena deserves more attention from scholars on the history of transportation and Sinoforeign cultural exchanges.

Yumen; Yumen Date; geographical location; the Silk Road; transportation history; Sinoforeign cultural exchange