Where does taking the west exit refer to?

Taking the west exit is one of the "five most famous population migrations in modern Chinese history".

West entrance, in a narrow sense, refers to the entrance to the north of the Great Wall, including Shahukou in Shanxi, Fugukou in Shaanxi, and Dushikou in Hebei. It is the intersection where people from northern Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei take the west entrance.

The west exit starts from central and northern Shanxi and goes west, passing through the Shahu Pass and entering the Mongolian grassland. One goes east, passes Datong, and enters Mongolia through Zhangjiakou.

The West Exit in the folk saying of "take the West Exit" refers to the north entrance of the Great Wall. Walking out of Shanxi Shahukou, you will reach the Guihua, Suiyuan, Kulun and Duolun, Uliasutai and Khovd and Xinjiang areas where Shanxi people used to dominate the business world.

Extended information:

The social value of walking to the west exit:

Going to the west exit is a bitter history of immigration and a history of hard work and entrepreneurship. Group after group of immigrants left their homes and went north to the Mongolian area outside Kouou, worked hard to start a business, and developed the Inner Mongolia area.

More importantly, they brought advanced farming culture to the backward nomadic state of central and western Inner Mongolia, which fundamentally changed the entire local cultural landscape.

With the process of immigration from the west entrance, the traditional single nomadic society in Inner Mongolia outside the mouth has evolved into a diversified society with dual banners and counties, and both pastoralism and farming.

Reference materials:

Baidu Encyclopedia - Take the West Exit