Shanhaiguan Pass

First Pass Under Heaven
The Shanhaiguan Pass has a horizontal board with the inscription for "First Pass Under Heaven". It is a calligraphic writing by scholar Xiao Xian of the Ming dynasty which hangs in the second story of the gate tower. So Shanhaiguan became known as the First Pass Under Heaven.Situated in the east of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province it forms a pass of strategic importance at the eastern end of the Great Wall. In the year 1381 (the 14th year of the Ming Hong Wu reign) General Xu Da set up the pass when a castle was built here.