The Lazikou Pass is a narrow mountain pass in the Min Mountain Range

Min Mountains

Min Mountains or Minshan are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan and southernmost borderlands of Gansu...

, Têwo County

Têwo County

Têwo County is an administrative district in Gansu, the People's Republic of China. It is one of 58 counties of Gansu. It is part of the Gannan Prefecture...

, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China. It includes Xiahe and the Labrang Monastery, Luqu, Maqu, and other mostly Tibetan towns and villages...

, southern Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

, China. The pass forms a gateway between northwestern Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 and southern Gansu. It is of historical significance due to its strategic importance in the final phase of the Long March

Long March

The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...

.

During the Long March, the Lazikou Pass was the last major obstacle for the forces led by Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 to reach northern Gansu after their crossing of the Zoigê Marsh

Zoigê Marsh

The Zoigê Marsh , also known as the Ruoergai Marsh or the Songpan Grasslands, is located in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau and forms the largest high-altitude marsh area in the world.. The marsh areas are mainly located in northern Sichuan Province, but extend into southern Gansu and...

. The pass had been fortified with blockhouses by Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 forces and was taken by mountaineers let by Yang Chengwu

Yang Chengwu

Yang Chengwu , alias Yang Nengjun was a general of the People's Republic of China. He was also a Proletarian Revolutionist and a military strategist of the People's Liberation Army....

on September 16th, 1935.