View source for Niangzi Pass

{{Short description|Mountain pass west of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province in North China}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name              = Niangzi Pass
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| map               = China Hebei#China Shanxi#China Northern Plain#China
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| traversed         = [[Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway]], <br> Shanxi Provincial Road S315 
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| location          = Border between [[Shanxi]] and [[Hebei]] provinces
| range             = [[Taihang Mountains]]
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| coordinates       = {{coord|37|58|01.34|N|113|52|40.65|E|region:CN-13_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title,inline}}
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{{Chinese
|s=娘子关
|t=娘子關
|p=Niángzǐ Guān
}}
'''Niangzi Pass''' ({{zh|s=娘子关|t=娘子關|p=Niángzǐ Guān}}), also called the '''Ladies' Pass''', is a [[mountain pass]] west of [[Shijiazhuang]], capital of [[Hebei]] Province in [[North China]]. One of the major passages from [[Shanxi]] Province to Hebei Province across the [[Taihang Mountains]], it is {{convert|55|km|mi}} west of Shijiazhuang, at the point where the [[Shitai Railway]] (Shijiazhuang--[[Taiyuan]], capital of Shanxi) crosses the border between the two provinces on its way to Taiyuan.

Surrounded by a maze of hills and valleys, Niangziguan Pass was famed as "the Ninth Pass on the [[Great Wall of China|Great wall]]". The extant pass was built in 1542 during the [[Ming dynasty]].  The pass is flanked by mountain more than 1,000 metres high. A tributary of the [[Yellow River]], [[Tao River]], twists its way through the valleys below. In ancient times this provided a narrow passage for men and horses.

Legend goes that during the [[Tang dynasty]], the army under the command of [[Princess Pingyang]], daughter of [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Li Yuan]], the first emperor and founder of the Tang dynasty, once garrisoned here. Hence, it was dubbed as the epithet "Ladies' Pass".

Its defence played an important part in the [[Battle of Xinkou]] between the [[National Revolutionary Army|Chinese Nationalists]] and the [[China Expeditionary Army|Japanese detachment]].

{{Great Wall of China}}
{{Mountain passes of China}}

[[Category:Mountain passes of China]]
[[Category:Great Wall of China]]
[[Category:Landforms of Hebei]]
[[Category:Landforms of Shanxi]]


{{Hebei-geo-stub}}