Luózuǒguān

Luozuo Pass guards a narrow route between Xuzhou and Yunnan, where cliffs rise above the river in the mountains of Wumeng. Earlier known as Shimen and later as Dousha, it was a difficult entrance to the plateau from Sichuan. Medieval descriptions praised its steepness: a narrow path climbed the rock above the gorge, making the pass both a formidable obstacle to travellers and a defensible point on the road.