The city's name is often confused with the Yumen Guan or Jade Gate which is the frontier-pass of ancient times, the entrance to the old Silk Roads, which was situated not far to the west of Dunhuang.

The site of Yumen was brought under Chinese control around the end of the 2nd century BCE.

[5] The overland route to Western Asia from China flourished until the end of the Tang dynasty.

The construction of a modern highway over the old caravan route from Yumen to Ürümqi (capital of the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang) and continuing on-wards to Kazakhstan.

After the discovery of oil in the Jiuquan basin, to the north of the Qilian Mountains the city's economy was given another major push.

Manufacturing includes machinery, building materials, chemical fertilizers and process agricultural products.

[6] Yumen has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk), with an annual total precipitation of 67 millimetres (2.64 in), the majority of which occurs in summer.