Atlas
Hangu Pass
The natural choke point between the Xiao Mountains and the Yellow River — one man holding the pass against ten thousand, the most vital strategic gateway between ancient Guanzhong and the Central Plains.
Prefecture: Sanmenxia
Province: HenanTwo red-pillared, grey-tiled towers stand above a stone gate arch, a gravel track leads up to it, and red and yellow trees dot the slopes on both sides.
Temple1
- Lingbao Qin Hangu Pass Tower & Taichu Palace
Famed as Qin's impregnable eastern gate, Hangu Pass is traditionally where Laozi composed the five-thousand-character Tao Te Ching.
Archaeology1
- Xin'an Han Hangu Pass Archaeological Site
Moved east by Yang Pu under Emperor Wu of Han to guard the western approach to Luoyang, this pass is a core site of the jointly listed Silk Road heritage.
Infrastructure1
- Xiaohan Ancient Road Shihao Section
Wheel ruts sunk deep into loess cliffs mark this strategic old road, where Du Fu set his famous poem The Shihao Officer.
In its history5
- Zhang YiBirth unknown–309 BCE
Part of Hangu Pass's history: Alliances of Warring States. Warring States persuader from Wei who became chancellor of Qin, tricked King Huai of Chu with a false offer of land, and urged the states to side with Qin
- Su QinDates unknown; mid to late Warring States
Part of Hangu Pass's history: Alliances of Warring States. Warring States persuader from Luoyang; the Shiji makes him chief of a six-state alliance against Qin, but silk manuscripts show him as a later Yan agent at the court of Qi
- Fan JuBirth unknown–c. 255 BCE
Part of Hangu Pass's history: Alliances of Warring States. Wei-born strategist who fled to Qin under the name Zhang Lu, became chancellor to King Zhaoxiang and set the policy of allying with distant states to attack near ones
- Gongsun Yan360–300 BCE
Part of Hangu Pass's history: Alliances of Warring States. Man of Wei called Xishou, a general and chancellor who urged the vertical alliance against Qin and organised the five-state kingship in 323 BCE
- Shang Yangc. 390–338 BCE
Part of Hangu Pass's history: Alliances of Warring States. Statesman from the small state of Wey who carried out two rounds of legalist reform in Qin under Duke Xiao, became Lord of Shang, and was torn apart by chariots after his patron died
Zhou3
- Alliances of Warring States
Vertical and horizontal alliances of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, shaping the grand diplomacy of the Warring States.
- Coalition Attacks Qin at Hangu Pass318 BCE
In 318 BCE, a coalition of eastern states reached Hangu Pass to attack Qin, then withdrew after Qin counterattacked.
- Yin Xi Welcomes Laozi at HanguLate Spring-and-Autumn tradition
In a late-Spring-and-Autumn tradition, Hangu Pass Keeper Yin Xi welcomed Laozi and asked him to leave the five-thousand-character Tao Te Ching.
Modern Era2
- The Canal and the Silk Roads
On 22 June 2014 the 38th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, in Doha, inscribed the Grand Canal of China and the Silk Roads: Routes Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor on the World Heritage List.
- Han Hangu Pass Inscribed2014 CE
In 2014, the Han Hangu Pass site in Xin'an was inscribed as a Chinese component of the Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor.
