Kunlun Pass () is
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...
located 59 kilometers northeast of
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South o ...
,
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
and traversed by . The altitude is around 300 m (1000 ft).
During the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...
, this pass was contended between the Japanese and the Chinese in the
Battle of Kunlun Pass
The Battle of Kunlun Pass () was a series of conflicts between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Chinese forces surrounding Kunlun Pass, a key strategic position in Guangxi province. The Japanese forces planned to cut off Chinese supply lines ...
.
In 1939, a heavy battle between Chinese and Japanese forces broke out at Kunlun Pass, with both sides engaging their respective elite forces and best firearms. The battle bore strong significance in the direction of the war because it might result in the total control of China by Japan or the safety of its material supply chain by China. Before the battle, China had been routed by Japan and withdrawn its military forces and civilians from the very north southwards, as well as had its capital city Nanjing falling into the hands of Japanese. China would not have afforded the loss again, it must win at any cost and that led to the heavy loss of lives in this battle of both sides. After the victory, the Chinese government set up memorial stones at the very site to mark the great honors of the bravery of both armed forces and the local civilians who had offered help during the fighting. After the rule of communist party, the site was scrapped but the local people who cherished the patriotism of the forces preserved the historical site at their cost and trouble. Now with the gradual peace making between Beijing and Taipei, China reestablishes the memorial site and facilities are provided there to make the former battlefield a base for patriotism education.
There is an unrelated Kunlun Pass, at a much higher altitude, . It is located in
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
province, at .
Mountain passes of China
Landforms of Guangxi
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Guangxi
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