Hulao Pass is a mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 northwest of Xingyang

Xingyang

Xingyang , is one of county-level cities of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. It is 15 kilometers in the west of Zhengzhou city and is the nearest city to Zhengzhou as well...

, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is the site of many historical battles, being the eastern guard for the capital Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

 for several dynasties. With Mount Song

Mount Song

Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan , is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China...

 to the south, the Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

 to the north, the pass holds up a formidable defense. Many defensive structures have been set up here throughout history, dating from the Warring States Period

Warring States Period

The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...

 when a checkpoint is set up here. The pass became fortified in the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

.

The name Hulao, or "Tiger Cage", came to be when King Mu of Zhou

King Mu of Zhou

King Mu of Zhou or King Mu of Chou or Mu Wang or Mu Wang was the fifth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 976-922 BC or 956-918 BC.-Life:...

 trapped a tiger in this place. It also had the name of Wulao Pass (武牢關) at one time in the Tang Dynasty, due to a naming taboo

Naming taboo

Naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...

 — the grandfather of Emperor Gaozu of Tang

Emperor Gaozu of Tang

Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...

 was named Li Hu. The pass also held the name Sishui Pass (汜水關) from time to time, which brought much confusion whether Hulao Pass and Sishui Pass are referring to the same pass. Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

, the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

, apparently also got confused over the names and treated Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass as two places when they should be one.

Numerous battles were said to have fought here. Among the most famous is the Battle of Hulao Pass

Battle of Hulao Pass

The Battle of Hulao Pass is a fictional battle described in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The battle was fought between Dong Zhuo and a coalition of regional warlords and officials as part of the Campaign against Dong Zhuo in 190 during the prelude to the Three...

, where a coalition of dissidents

Campaign against Dong Zhuo

The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against Dong Zhuo, Chancellor of State, in 190 during the late Han Dynasty of Chinese history...

 led by Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...

 clashed with Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo was a politician and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He seized control of the capital city Luoyang in 189 when it was in a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling and a clash between the eunuch faction and some court officials led by...

's elite armies in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

. Also here, in the Battle of Hulao

Battle of Hulao

The Battle of Hulao of 28 May 621, located just east of Luoyang, was a decisive victory for Li Shimin, through which he was able to subdue two warlords, Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong. Li Shimin led a siege on the city of Luoyang, head of the self-declared emperor Wang Shichong, who solicited help...

 of 621

621

Year 621 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 621 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* May 28 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin...

, Li Shimin defeated Dou Jiande

Dou Jiande

Dou Jiande was a leader of the agrarian rebels who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui near the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty...

 and forced Wang Shichong

Wang Shichong

Wang Shichong , courtesy name Xingman , was a general of the Chinese Sui Dynasty who deposed Sui's last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state of Zheng...

 to surrender, laying the foundation to the Tang Dynasty. The classic novel Fengshen Yanyi

Fengshen Yanyi

Fengshen Bang, also known as Fengshen Yanyi in Chinese, and translated as The Investiture of the Gods or The Creation of the Gods, is one of the major vernacular Chinese epic novels written during the Ming Dynasty...

(set over a thousand years before the Three Kingdoms period) depicts two major battles taking place in this pass (in chapters 33 & 76).