Loushan Pass: The Guizhou Ridge Behind Mao's Most Quoted Poem

Autumn is the season when Loushan Pass looks its best. The ridge sits in the Dalou Mountains inside Zunyi, a city in the northern part of Guizhou province in southwest China, and photographers who visited on September 26 found slopes washed in red maple, yellow smoke tree and evergreen shrubs, with thin mist hanging over the valleys below.

The pass is a natural gateway: it blocks the route north toward Sichuan and controls the road south into Guizhou and Guangxi. Because of that position, Chinese histories have long called it the throat of northern Guizhou, and for centuries any army moving through the region wanted to hold it.

That geography is why the pass matters in modern Chinese memory. In the winter of 1935, during the Long March, a Red Army unit crossed the Chishui River and swung back into northern Guizhou, surprising the defenders at Loushan Pass before taking Zunyi again. The fight became known as the Loushan Pass victory, and it was followed by Mao Zedong’s poem Yi Qin E: Loushan Pass, whose closing line about stepping forward from the start is still quoted today.

For visitors, the appeal is quieter than the history. The pass is an easy half-day from Zunyi city, and the viewpoint rewards the climb with layered ridges, terraced fields and small villages that appear and disappear as the mist shifts. Early morning light is the draw for photographers, and October is generally the peak window for color.

Zunyi itself has become a base for this kind of trip. The city is known internationally for its role in Chinese history, but it is also the home of a major liquor industry and a growing number of boutique hotels and teahouses aimed at weekend visitors from Chongqing and Guiyang. A typical itinerary pairs the pass with old-town streets, local noodles and a walk along the Xiang River.

Guizhou as a whole has spent the past decade building roads and high-speed rail links that make trips like this practical. What used to be a long, uncomfortable drive from provincial capital Guiyang is now a short train ride, and small towns along the route have added guesthouses and shuttle services for hikers.

If you go, plan for mountain weather. Mornings can be cold and foggy even in autumn, and the stone paths get slick after rain. Bring layers, start early to catch the light, and give yourself time to simply stand at the top and look at the ridges rather than rushing to the next stop.

The pass is a reminder that some of China’s most visited places are not famous for buildings or theme parks but for a view and a line of poetry. Both are still there, waiting at the top of the stairs.