Mei Pass

Mountain pass in Guangdong, China

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Mei Pass

Traditional Chinese

梅關

Simplified Chinese

梅关

Literal meaning

Plum Pass

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Méi Guān

Mei Pass (simplified Chinese: 梅关; traditional Chinese: 梅關; pinyin: Méi Guān; lit. 'Plum Pass') is a strategic site around 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Nanxiong in Guangdong, China. It is situated in the Meiling Mountains (梅岭) and forms the boundary between the provinces of Jiangxi and Guangdong.

The site of Mei Pass has been significant since the Qin dynasty (221BCE – 206CE) and its name probably dates from this early period. It was part of one of the five transport routes from the Yangtze valley to Nanhai in present-day Guangzhou. During the Tang (618–907), the site was variously called Qin Pass (秦关) and Hengpu Pass (横浦关). In 716, the Chancellor Zhang Jiuling constructed a 5 metres (16 ft) wide road through the pass as part of the trade route along the Gan River. 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 metres (3,000 ft)] of layered cliffs?^{[citation needed]}

During the Song dynasty (960–1279), 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 the words "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 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) of the Tang road and most of the Song fortifications are still extant. Most tourists visit in winter, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom.

Mountain passes of China

Geography of China

On the border

Kazakhstan	Dzungarian Gate
Kyrgyzstan	Bedel Pass Irkeshtam Pass Torugart Pass
Tajikistan	Beyik Pass Kulma Pass Nezatash Pass
Afghanistan	Wakhjir Pass Tegermansu Pass
Pakistan	Khunjerab Pass Kilik Pass Mintaka Pass Mustagh Pass
India	Bum La Pass Cho La Diphu Pass Dongkha La Indira Col Jelep La Karakoram Pass Kepang La Kongka Pass Lipulekh Pass Mana Pass Nathu La Rezang La Shipki La Spanggur Gap Tulung La
Nepal	Korala Lho La Nangpa La South Col
Myanmar	Diphu Pass Isu Razi Pass
Vietnam	Friendship Pass

In the interior

On the Great Wall	Dajingmen Gubeikou Jiayu Pass Huangya Pass Jingxing Pass Juyong Pass Niangzi Pass Pingxing Pass (Pingxingguan) Shanhai Pass (Shanhaiguan) Yang Pass Yanmen Pass Yumen Pass
Guanzhong area	Dasan Pass (Sanguan) Tong Pass (Tongguan) Wu Pass
Xinjiang area	Dehra La Hindutash Iron Gate Pass Kirgizjangal Pass (Heiqia) Mazar Pass Muzart Pass Sanju Pass
Tibet area	Cherko la Laken La Lanak La Lhagba La Mayum La North Col Semo La Tanggula Pass
Other	Biandukou Cho La, Sichuan Hangu Pass Hulao Pass Jianmen Pass Kunlun Pass Lazikou Pass Mei Pass