Situated in the north of the famous historic city, Jiange , 30 km from the county, Jianmen Pass lies in the heart of “Jianmen Ancient Road”. One of the first state-level scenic sights granted by the State Council in 1982, it is also one of the four eminent mountains in Sichuan. As a well-known touring site, the scenic spot is featured with majesty, steepness, serenity, rarity, and elegance. Li Bai, a famous poet of Tang Dynasty, composed the poem “Jiange is steep and lofty” to express his impression of the steepness of the mountains. Lu You, a poet of Song Dynasty, was intoxicated by the charming scenery when “rode a donkey to Jianmen in drizzles”. There are massive cultural and historic sites left by ancient wars and battles and large quantity of literature works related to Jianmen Pass written by poets and prose writers.
As the barrier of north Sichuan and the throat to south and north Sichuan, Jianmen Pass, located in the middle of Jianshan Mountain, is very important in Ancient Shu Road. The mountains in this area stretch as far as hundreds of kilometers. The 72 continuous peaks penetrate into the sky, like sharp swords. Thus, Jianmen is usually talked of for its grandness.
Surrounded by cragged lapis two or three hundred meters high, Jianmen Pass is 50 m in width and about 500 m in length. Jianmen pass is famous also because it is embedded between the cliffs of Jianshan Mountain. As the legend goes, in the ancient times, there was no pass there and the Mt. Jianmenshan blocked the path to the outside. King Huiwan of Qin Kingdom bestowed “stone cattle with gold ordure” to the King of Shu Kingdom. Hearing about that, the king of Shu Kingdom sent five muscular men to build roads for the arrival of cattle. Infuriated by the obstruction of Mt. Jianmenshan, they slashed the mountain into two parts with their swords. The two parts, resembling a gateway, is thus named “Jianmen”. The 72 peaks, with precipitous and lofty cliffs, pierce into the sky and extend hundreds of Li from east to west. The two Jianshan Mountains, one large and one small, face each other. The intermitted part of the mountain is rather narrow, just like a gateway. With such a strategic geographic location as the barrier and throat to north Sichuan, it had been the fighting filed in all ages and numerous heroes had left traces hereupon. In the Three Kingdoms Period, Zhu Geliang, the Premier of Shu Kingdom set up a fort here, called Jiange at that time. By taking advantage of the natural barrier Jiang Wei, a distinguished general of Shu had once obstructed with just five thousand soldiers the aggression of one hundred thousand forces of Wei led by the famous fighter Zhonghui,. The Tang Dynasty established “Jianmen Pass”. Li Bai, an outstanding poet, acclaimed for the ruggedness and majesty of Jianmen Pass by writing “Jianmen is so lofty that one man can stop the invasion of ten thousand ones.” There were about hundreds of battles fought there in two thousand three hundred years, with an average of one battle in twenty years. However, it has never been broken from the obverse side. In the rocks of the pass inscribed characters as “the No.1 Pass”,” the impregnable pass of the world”. Surrounded by unbroken chains and verdant plants, the newly-built tower, situated at the gate of the pass, is absolutely magnificent and picturesque.
The front of Jianmen Pass is imposing and magnificent. The stone stairs extend far away along the mountain and cliff. The craggy stones of the cliffs are remarkably shaped by the nature. Nonetheless, the back of the mountain is considerably lush and elegant. Age-old pines brim over the mountains. The green peaks are beautiful and serene. The road to the hills is twisting and winding. The water in the mountain is quite clear and the hollow valley, towering peaks are in the heart of the green mountain. It is rather appealing to go boating in the lake. The chief peak of Jianmen Pass, Mt.Dajianshan, is 1,200 meters in altitude. At the top of the mountain, there is an ancient temple, Liangshan Temple, which was built in Song Dynasty. One can enjoy the overlook of Jianmen Pass, Bamboo Shooting Peak, Chuandong Girder, Goddess Bridgy, Shesheng Cliff on the way.