Xixing Pass

Xixing Pass

Also known as Xixing Pass, it stands majestically in the northwest corner of Dai County and is collectively referred to as one of the "Three Passes."

In the northern part of Dai County, the Inner Great Wall winds and undulates like a giant dragon, connecting the Yanmen Mountain, Mantou Mountain, and Caoduo Peak into one continuous range. It blocks the plateau beyond the Great Wall to the north and shields the Xinding Basin to the south. Long famed for its impregnable mountain barriers and strategic military importance, the area features overlapping peaks, steep cliffs, and gloomy valleys. It has always been a fiercely contested battleground. In the early Tang Dynasty, an outpost was established at Tieguomen (Iron-Wrapped Gate) atop the highest peak, where a garrison was stationed to guard against the Turkic invaders. Legend has it that the pass was named Yanmen (Wild Goose Gate) because the mountains were so high that migrating geese could only fly through this pass. Later, due to road damage and impassable routes for carts and horses, the garrison and fortifications were abandoned. In the seventh year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1374 AD), Marquis Lu Hen of Ji’an relocated the pass city to its current location, 5 kilometers northeast of the old pass and 20 kilometers south of Dai County town. The pass city stands atop perilous ridges and towering peaks, flanked by steep cliffs on both sides forming a gateway-like shape. It connects the eighteen mountain passes on its eastern and western sides, truly creating a formidable defensive position where "one man can hold the pass against ten thousand." The perimeter of the pass city is 1 kilometer, with stone walls 7 meters high, and three gateways: the East Gate, the West Gate, and the Small North Gate. The plaque above the East Gate is inscribed with the character “险” (meaning “Precipitous” or “Heavenly Peril”), and above the gate stands the Yan Tower. To the east outside the gate lies the Jingbian Temple, dedicated to the general Li Mu. The plaque above the West Gate is inscribed with the character “初” (meaning “Strategic Advantage” or “Geographical Advantage”), and to its right stands the Guan Di Temple. The Small North Gate bears a horizontal plaque inscribed with the three large characters “雁门关” (Yanmen Pass), flanked by a brick-carved couplet: “Among the Three Passes, none compare in strategic importance; among the Nine Forts, this one is the most revered.” Directly north of the pass city lies the barracks, and to the southeast is the military drill ground. The entire pass city is situated in a highly strategic location and features majestic architecture. The crenellated walls, beacon towers, and defensive ditches on both sides of the pass city truly embody the imposing presence described as “the city follows the mountain’s contours, and the pass rises with the borderland clouds.”