| Jianmen Pass | |
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 Jianmen Pass in 2005. The gate structure was burned down in 2006 | |
| Traversed by | Shudao, G108 (tunnel) |
| Location | NortheastSichuan Province,China |
| Range | Longmen Mountains |
| Coordinates | 32°12′54″N105°33′48″E / 32.21500°N 105.56333°E /32.21500; 105.56333 |
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| Jianmen Pass | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 劍門關 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 剑门关 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Sword Gate Pass | ||||||
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Jianmen Pass (simplified Chinese:剑门关;traditional Chinese:劍門關;pinyin:Jiàn Mén Guān;lit. 'Sword Gate Pass') is amountain pass located southwest of the city ofGuangyuan inSichuanprovince. It has also been called "Jianmenguan Pass"; however, that form isredundant sinceguān means "pass" in Chinese.
Jianmen Pass is located inJiange County, Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province. The city ofChengdu, which is the capital of Sichuan Province, is less than 200 kilometers south from there. The natural pass is formed by cliffs on the sides of mountains. The gate of the pass was built on the middle part of the Dajian Mountain as a strategic position.
The mountain pass was a part of theShu Roads. The construction of the gate was related to theThree Kingdoms era strategist,Shu Han chancellorZhuge Liang. While Zhuge Liang repaired thegallery roads, he found the terrain inJiange was a naturally perfect place to set up a defensive position for Shu; therefore, he ordered a military gate to be built on the pass.[1] After Zhuge Liang died, his successorJiang Wei led the army and held the Jianmen Pass against the invasion fromWei. Since then, Jianmen Pass has become a key position and most important pass in three routes into Sichuan.
In 1932, because the local government was building a road across the Jianmen Pass, they demolished the structure which was built in theMing Dynasty. Only the foundation was left. Later, during theChinese Civil War, Jianmen Pass wastaken by theCommunists from theNationalists.
Jianmen Pass lost its military value but became a major tourist attraction because of its history. In the 1980s, the Chinese government rebuilt the old gate structure. The building was damaged by fire in 2005. The rebuilt gate was heavily damaged again by the2008 Sichuan earthquake. The current structure was built in 2009.[2]
| On the border |
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| In the interior |
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