Mei Pass
Encyclopedia
Mei Pass is a strategic site around 30 km north of Nanxiong
(南雄) Municipality, Guangdong
province, China
. It is situated in the Meiling Mountains (梅岭), forming the boundary between the provinces of Jiangxi
and Guangdong.
The site of Mei Pass has been significant since the Qin Dynasty
. Its name probably dates from this early period. It was part of one of the five transport routes from the Yangtze River
valley to Nanhai
in present day Guangzhou
. During Tang Dynasty
times, the site was called variously Qin Pass (秦关) and Hengpu Pass (横浦关). In 716, the Chancellor Zhang Jiuling
constructed a five metre wide road through the pass as part of the trade route along the Gan River
. Of the old gallery road, Zhang wrote:
In the Song Dynasty
fortifications were constructed on the pass and the characters representing Mei Pass were carved on it. The Tang road was improved with brick paving. The surviving fortifications have "Majestic pass of Nanyue" (南粤雄关) carved on the northern side and "First pass of Lingnan" (岭南第一关) carved on the other side. (Both Nanyue and Lingnan are alternative names for Guangdong.)
Until recent decades, Mei Pass was an important thoroughfare for the overland trade south to Guangdong, as well as a militarily significant boundary. In 1928, Mao Zedong
attempted to cross the pass from Jiangxi into Guangdong. In the 1930s, the Communist commander Chen Yi
spent three years in the vicinity of Mei Pass fighting a protracted guerilla war against Kuomintang
encirclement.
Mei Pass has been designated as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the provincial authorities and draws small numbers of domestic tourists. Around eight kilometres of the Tang road and most of the Song fortifications are still extant. Most visit in winter, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom.
Guangdong°N Jiangxi°W
Nanxiong
Nanxiong is a city district of Guangdong Province, China. It is under the administration of Shaoguan city....
(南雄) Municipality, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It is situated in the Meiling Mountains (梅岭), forming the boundary between the provinces of Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
and Guangdong.
The site of Mei Pass has been significant since the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
. Its name probably dates from this early period. It was part of one of the five transport routes from the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
valley to Nanhai
Nanhai
Nanhai District , historically known as Namhoi, is a district of Foshan prefecture-level city, in Guangdong province, southern China. It is the first city to have developed e-government informatization at the county level in China.-Administration:...
in present day Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. During Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
times, the site was called variously Qin Pass (秦关) and Hengpu Pass (横浦关). In 716, the Chancellor Zhang Jiuling
Zhang Jiuling
Zhang Jiuling , courtesy name Zishou , nickname Bowu , formally Count Wenxian of Shixing , was a prominent minister, noted poet and scholar of the Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.- Background :Zhang Jiuling was born in 673, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong...
constructed a five metre wide road through the pass as part of the trade route along the Gan River
Gan River
The Gan River of southern China travels 885 km north through Jiangxi before flowing into Lake Poyang and thence into the Yangtze River. It is the major artery for Nanchang.-See also:*List of rivers in China*2010 South China floods...
. Of the old gallery road, Zhang wrote:
- Formerly, an abandoned road in the east of the pass,
- Forbidding in the extreme, a hardship for men.
- An unswerving course: you clambered aloft
- On the outskirts of several miles of heavy forest,
- With flying bridges, clinging to the brink
- Halfway up a thousand fathoms [900 m] of layered cliffs ?
In the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
fortifications were constructed on the pass and the characters representing Mei Pass were carved on it. The Tang road was improved with brick paving. The surviving fortifications have "Majestic pass of Nanyue" (南粤雄关) carved on the northern side and "First pass of Lingnan" (岭南第一关) carved on the other side. (Both Nanyue and Lingnan are alternative names for Guangdong.)
Until recent decades, Mei Pass was an important thoroughfare for the overland trade south to Guangdong, as well as a militarily significant boundary. In 1928, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
attempted to cross the pass from Jiangxi into Guangdong. In the 1930s, the Communist commander Chen Yi
Chen Yi (communist)
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as the 2nd Mayor of Shanghai and the 2nd Foreign Minister of China.-Biography:Chen was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
spent three years in the vicinity of Mei Pass fighting a protracted guerilla war against Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
encirclement.
Mei Pass has been designated as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the provincial authorities and draws small numbers of domestic tourists. Around eight kilometres of the Tang road and most of the Song fortifications are still extant. Most visit in winter, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom.
Guangdong°N Jiangxi°W