Sword Gate Mountain

　　　In ancient times, Sword Gate Mountain was called Greater Sword Mountain. The “Sword Gate” of Greater Sword Mountain is famed as the “Foremost Pass Under Heaven” due to its towering peaks and treacherous paths.

　　Sword Gate Mountain is divided into Greater Sword Mountain and Lesser Sword Mountain. The two mountains are closely connected, bordering the Jialing River to the east and Wuzhi Mountain (within Jiangyou City) to the west, stretching over a hundred li. The northern side features sheer cliffs a thousand ren high, as if carved by knives and axes; the southern side is dotted with peaks.

　　Legend has it that Greater Sword Mountain has seventy-two peaks. Over the centuries, no one has seriously counted how many peaks actually exist on Sword Gate Mountain. Among the numerous peaks, the most notable include Kuzhu Stockade, Dongshan Stockade, Xianfeng Temple, Jixin Mountain, Bijia Ridge, Jade Maiden Peak, and Yingpan Mouth, totaling over forty peaks.

　　The Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu once praised: “Only Heaven could fashion such a perilous site, / Sword Gate stands grand, majestic and bright. / Mountains embrace the southwest in their sweep, / Their rocky tips all northward they keep. / Two cliffs rise steep like towers so high, / Carving out battlements toward the sky.” It is a famous mountain in Sichuan, a historically renowned strategic pass, and an important part of the Sword Gate Shu Road Scenic Area. Located within Jiange County in the northwest of the Sichuan Basin, the mountain range extends from northeast to southwest, spanning 70 kilometers, with the highest peak reaching 1,178 meters. The entire mountain can be divided into Greater Sword Mountain and Lesser Sword Mountain. The former is also called Liangshan, while the latter lies to the southwest of Greater Sword Mountain, hence the saying “one mountain split into two, forming a gate-like shape, through which the road between Qin and Shu once passed.” The mountain body is mainly composed of hard Cretaceous conglomerate rocks, which were uplifted through folding to form a cuesta, steep on the north and gentle on the south. After subsequent erosion and weathering, the peaks rise abruptly, each one sharp as an arrow, with the seventy-two peaks of Sword Gate being the most famous. Lesser Sword Gate is located 30 kilometers north of Jiange County, where a break in the cliffs forms two facing walls only 20 meters apart, as if cleaved by a knife or axe, hence the name Sword Gate. Due to its towering presence and perilous paths, it is known as the “Foremost Pass Under Heaven,” and historically served as a strategic military location. It is now a key point along the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway, with inscriptions nearby such as “Foremost Pass Under Heaven” and “First Pass.” Attractions include Liangshan Temple, Sacrificial Cliff, Fairy Bridge, Golden Ox Gorge, Leifeng Gorge, and Rear Gate Pass. Along both sides of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway in the Sword Gate Mountain area, tall and elegant ancient cypresses stretch continuously, known as “Jiange Ancient Cypresses” or “Zhang Fei Cypresses,” some of which are over 400 years old. Jiange County is home to more than 8,100 ancient cypresses, some of which require several people to encircle, making them another highlight of Sword Gate Mountain. The region also produces the uniquely styled Jiange Walking Sticks, which are exported overseas.