 Jianmen Pass (Jianmen Guan, 剑门关) was one of the key gateways of Sichuan.There are 72 peaks in the range and the only road going through the mountains was 50 metres wide.Whoever controlled this 2 km long stretch of the road controlled the gateway of Sichuan, and the nationalists had built an elaborate system of bunkers in the area to strengthen its defense against the expected communist invasion.