Park of China
Overview
| Designation | National Park of China (first batch) |
| Province | Sichuan |
| Location | Sichuan |
| Latitude, longitude | 32.3, 105.6 Google Maps |
| Highlights | Plank roads, ancient cypress avenue |
| Top sights | Jianmen Pass, the Cuiyun Corridor |
| Highest point | 1,200 m |
| Nearby cities | Guangyuan, Chengdu |
| Nearby sites | Mount Guangwu 129km, Nuoshui River 152km, Huanglong 170km, Jiuzhaigou Valley 179km Search nearby |
| Themes | Cliff, Culture, Mountain, Plant, Ancient City, Ancient trees, Passes & fortifications |
About
Jianmen Pass and the Shu Road lie in northern Sichuan south of Guangyuan, between the Qinling, Daba and Min mountains. The name “Sword Gate” comes from cliffs “sharp as swords, standing facing each other like a gate”; since ancient times “Jianmen is the most perilous under heaven”.
The Shu Road through Jianmen is the ancient route from the Guanzhong plain over Hanzhong into Sichuan, from Mianxian in Shaanxi to Chengdu, at its most perilous around Guangyuan and Jiange. Jianmen Pass is a single gap between the conglomerate cliffs of the Dajian range, whose 72 peaks run on either side; Li Bai’s “Hard Road to Shu” describes the towering pass, which one man could hold against ten thousand. Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms cut the cliff and built the fortress; the gate tower burned many times and the present one is a reconstruction.
It is in the first batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 1982.
Travel tips
Getting there: Jianmenguan station on the Xi'an–Chengdu high-speed line is at Xiasi town in Jiange county, some way from the scenic area, so you change to a bus or taxi. Or go first to Guangyuan by high-speed rail or air and then by road to Jianmenguan town. From the Chengdu side there is also the expressway.
Jianmen Pass: enter near the gate tower, take the cable car up Dajian Mountain, then walk down the cliff paths to the gate tower; or do it the other way round.
Cuiyun Corridor: near Jiange county town, an old road lined with ancient cypresses, with a walking path; it can be combined with Jianmen Pass in one day.
Zhaohua old town and Mingyue Gorge: both near Guangyuan, and easy to fit in before or after Jianmen Pass.
Time: one day for Jianmen Pass and Cuiyun Corridor; two or three days with Zhaohua and Mingyue Gorge.
Season: spring and autumn are best; summer is rainy, and the mountain is cold in winter.
Where to stay: Jianmenguan town, Jiange county town or Guangyuan city.
Caution: the cliff paths such as the Yuannao Path are very steep; take care if you dislike heights or if it is raining. On holidays there are queues for the cable car.
Main sights
Jianmen Pass: the heart of the park, with the gate tower, the fortress, Liangshan Temple, the tomb of Jiang Wei, and the “bird road” and “monkey road” cut into the cliff; the summit of Dajian Mountain looks down on the pass.
Cuiyun Corridor (“Emerald Cloud Corridor”): along the old post road from Jiange towards Zitong and Langzhong stand over 7,000 ancient cypresses planted from the Qin and Han to the Ming and Qing, a “three-hundred-li corridor” that is the oldest and largest surviving avenue of planted trees in the world.
Zhaohua old town: south of Guangyuan where the Bailong joins the Jialing, a well-preserved walled town on the Shu Road where Liu Bei camped his army.
Mingyue Gorge: a gorge of the Jialing north of Guangyuan where plank road, post road, river, highway and railway run side by side, the Shu Road in miniature.
Map
Photo credits: The gate tower of Jianmen Pass: Leeshan Chung (CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Nearby
| World Heritage | Huanglong 170km, Jiuzhaigou Valley 179km, Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 188km, Dujiangyan Irrigation System 234km |
| National parks of China | Giant Panda National Park 265km |
| National parks | White Dragon Lake 33km, Micang Mountain Grand Canyon 110km, Mount Guangwu 129km, Jiuzhaigou–Huanglong Scenic Area 176km |
| AAAAA attractions | Langzhong Ancient City Scenic Area 88km, Beichuan Qiang City Tourist Area 117km, Zhu De's Hometown Scenic Area, Yilong 135km |
| AAAA attractions | Zhaohua Ancient City 15km, Bolin Ancient Town 38km, Pingle Tourism Area 39km, Donghekou Earthquake Site Park 44km |
| UNESCO Global Geoparks | Guangwushan-Nuoshuihe UNESCO Global Geopark 101km |
| Historic cities | Langzhong 89km |
| Historical sites | Huangze Temple Cliff Statues 28km |
| National geoparks | Jiangyou National Geopark 71km, Guangwushan-Nuoshuihe National Geopark 101km |
| Nature reserves | Baishuihe National Nature Reserve 55km, Qingmuchuan National Nature Reserve 59km, Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve 121km, Micangshan National Nature Reserve 124km |
| Historic towns | Zhaohua Town 15km |