View source for Mei Pass

{{Short description|Mountain pass in Guangdong, China}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name              = Mei Pass ({{lower|0.1em|{{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|梅关}}}}}})
| other_name        = Qin Pass (秦关) and Hengpu Pass (横浦关)
| photo             = File:Mei Guan 2014.01.12 13-57-42.jpg
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| photo_caption     = Mei Pass from the Jiangxi side. Beyond the gate is Guangdong
| map               = China Guangdong#China
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| traversed         = {{jct|country=CHN|G|323}}  (to the west), {{jct|country=CHN|Ex|6011}} (tunnel)
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| location          = Border between [[Guangdong|Guangdong Province]] and [[Jiangxi|Jiangxi Province]], [[China]]
| range             = [[Dayu Mountains]] of [[Nanling Mountains]]
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| coordinates       = {{coord|25|20|00|N|114|20|22|E|region:CN-44|display=inline,title}}
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{{Chinese
|s=梅关
|t=梅關
|p=Méi Guān
|l=[[Prunus mume|Plum]] Pass
}}
'''Mei Pass''' ({{Zh|s=梅关|t=梅關|p=Méi Guān|l=[[Prunus mume|Plum]] Pass}}) is a strategic site around {{Convert|30|km}} north of [[Nanxiong]] in Guangdong, China. It is situated in the [[Meiling Mountains]] ({{lang|zh|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{{snd}}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 District|Nanhai]] in present-day Guangzhou. During the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] (618{{ndash}}907), the site was variously called Qin Pass ({{lang|zh|秦关}}) and Hengpu Pass ({{lang|zh|横浦关}}). In 716, the Chancellor [[Zhang Jiuling]] constructed a {{Convert|5|m}} wide road through the pass as part of the trade route along the [[Gan River]]. Of the old gallery road, Zhang wrote:
<poem>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 [{{Convert|900|m}}] of layered cliffs?{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}</poem>

During the [[Song dynasty]] (960{{ndash}}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" ({{lang|zh|南粤雄关}}) carved on the northern side and "First pass of [[Lingnan]]" ({{lang|zh|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 (general)|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 [[Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level#Sites Protected at various levels|Cultural Relic Protection Unit]] by the provincial authorities and draws small numbers of domestic tourists. Around {{Convert|8|km}} of the Tang road and most of the Song fortifications are still extant. Most tourists visit in winter, when the [[Prunus mume|plum]] blossoms are in full bloom.

{{Mountain passes of China}}

[[Category:Mountain passes of China]]
[[Category:Landforms of Guangdong]]
[[Category:Landforms of Jiangxi]]
[[Category:Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jiangxi]]