The "5-chi Plank Road" And Dousha Pass

The "5-chi Plank Road" And Dousha Pass

The “5 chi Plank Road (one chi approximately equals 0.3 meter)”, 1.2-1.3 meters wide, was constructed in the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C- 206 B.C) on the cliffs of the Dousha Pass that is 20 kilometers from the Yanjin county seat (Zhaotong Municipality). Only about 300 meters of the plank road survived. On the stone steps leading to the plank road, scores of hoof prints are still clearly visible. Since the Qin Dynasty, the “5 chi Plank Road” had been the important passageway between Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces and that of the South Silk Road. The survival segment of the Plank Road has supplied extremely valuable clues for studying the evolution of transportation between Yunnan and Sichuan, and the history of the South Silk Road as well.