Shanhai Pass

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Shanhai Guan
Old Dragon's Head (老龙头), part of Shanhai Pass, is where the Great Wall meets the Bohai Sea
Traversed by	Beijing–Harbin railway, G102
Location	Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China
Coordinates	40°00′33.71″N 119°45′14.92″E / 40.0093639°N 119.7541444°E / 40.0093639; 119.7541444

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Location of Shanhai Pass in Hebei

Shanhai Pass or Shanhaiguan (simplified Chinese: 山海关; traditional Chinese: 山海關; pinyin: Shānhǎi Guān) is one of the major passes in the Great Wall of China, being the easternmost stronghold along the Ming Great Wall that commands the narrowest choke point in the strategic Liaoxi Corridor, a crucial coastal landway between the North and Northeast China. It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, on the east bank of the Shi River between the Yan Mountains and the Liaodong Bay coast.

In 1961, the pass was selected as the Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council of China,^[1] and it was listed as part of the Great Wall as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1987.^[2]

The pass is a popular tourist destination at the eastern terminal point of the Ming dynasty Great Wall. The location where the wall meets the Bohai Sea is nicknamed "Old Dragon's Head" (老龙头).^[3] The pass lies nearly 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of Beijing and is linked via the Jingshen Expressway that runs northeastward to Shenyang.

Throughout Chinese history, the pass served as a frontline defensive outpost against ethnic groups from Northeast China (Manchuria), including the Khitan and Jurchen (Manchus). Shanhai Pass is the starting point of the eastern end of the Great Wall, and is the first barrier for guarding the frontier, therefore it is called the "First Pass Under Heaven" (天下第一关).^[4]