Gaque Pass

Gaque Pass

Amidst the vast expanse of the Yin Mountains, on the edge of a plateau cliff, lies a strategically vital military fortress — Gaque Pass, the endpoint of the Great Wall built by King Wuling of Zhao.

The pass is enclosed on its north, east, and west by natural ridgelines, with stone walls atop them, creating a “pot-bottom” formation. It features openings to the north and south that served as routes for northern nomadic tribes moving southward, and its terrain made it extremely defensible, embodying the phrase “one man at the gate can hold off ten thousand.”

The story of Gaque Pass began with King Wuling of Zhao, but it did not end there... During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, Han armies frequently marched through this pass into the grasslands to engage in fierce battles with the Xiongnu, eventually driving them north of the Yin Mountains. In the fifth year of the Yuanshuo era, Wei Qing led 100,000 troops from Gaque Pass deep into the grasslands, where they decisively defeated the Xiongnu’s Right Wise King, significantly reducing the threat the Xiongnu posed to the Central Shaanxi region.