The "Twenty-Four Turns" winding mountain road can be regarded as an outstanding model in the history of steep road construction. It is the image logo of "Stilwell Highway", a true portrayal of the history of the Chinese and American people's heroic resistance against the Japanese invaders, the only land transportation line in the rear of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the main artery of international aid to China. History of the Anti-Fascist War. Known as "the lifeline of China's Anti-Japanese War", also known as "the bend of history", there are still relics such as "US Army Wall" and "US Army Station". In 2006, it was appraised by the State Council as a national key cultural relic protection unit and one of the "Eighteen Scenic Spots of Jinzhou".
The "Twenty-Four Turns" Panshan Highway, known as "Crow Pass" in ancient times, is majestic, strange, dangerous, and steep. The straight-line distance from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain is about 350 meters, and the vertical height is about 260 meters; it is built in an "S" shape on a slope with an inclination of about 60 degrees, winding and circling to the pass, and the whole journey is about 4 kilometers. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was a winding ancient post road here, with "Yongquan Temple" built at the pass, and a tea pavilion outside the temple, specially for passers-by and tourists to take a rest. On the rock wall next to the temple, there are stone carvings such as "Oasis of Ganquan", "Yunling Mountain View", "Wudao Ganzhong", "And Drinking People". The majestic and dangerous Yaguan is famous in Yunnan and Guizhou. Ming poems recited "Liezai, the wind soars to the mountains, the clouds, the leaves, and the horseshoes. If it is a place for the province's clothing, it is the Xiongtu Suokeyguan".
The "Twenty-Four Turns" highway was first built in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935) and completed the following year. The stone carvings of temples in Ming and Qing Dynasties were all damaged during road construction. "Twenty-Four Turns" is a majestic and dangerous bend, because it is built against the mountain, the project is difficult and dangerous, the mountain is steep, and the bends are frequent. Looking from the pass to the distance, the mountains are piled up, horizontal and straight, surrounded by mist, the sea of clouds is vast, majestic, looking down from the pass, the "twenty-four roads" bend like a snake descending the mountain, wanting to drink the clear spring at the foot of the mountain. Looking up from the gate, its bend is like a white dragon coiling a mountain. It can be said that "thousands of mountains are flying green and singing on their shoulders, and the road is winding and pedestrians are like ants spinning". Passing through the gate, you can see that there are continuous clouds under your feet, and the smoke is reckless, joining the sky. Pass through the sea of clouds and go under the hanging rock, you can see the hanging rock waterfall on the left side of the 24th turn. In midsummer, it can be seen that two clear springs flow straight down from the hanging rock, which is indeed "a white rainbow hangs on the hanging rock, and flies into the sky on a drizzle day".
During World War II, American aid supplies to China arrived in Kunming via the Yunnan-Burma Highway and had to go through the "24-turn" Yunnan-Guizhou Line before being sent to the front line and Chongqing. Twenty-four turns became the main traffic artery in the China-Myanmar-India War Zone, undertaking the task of transporting international aid to China. The Japanese invaders have repeatedly sent planes to bomb the Ershishidaoguai Highway in an attempt to cut off the throat of Guizhou and Yunnan. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, U.S. Army Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army’s China-Myanmar-India Theater and the chief of staff of the Allied China Theater. U.S. Army Secretary Stimson asked Stilwell to “maintain the transportation of the Burma Road” and devote himself to "Improving the Combat Effectiveness of the Chinese Army". In 1942, the 1880 Engineer Battalion of the American Highway Engineering Corps was stationed in Jinglong, Guizhou Province to build the Yunnan-Guizhou Highway. It was stationed 3 kilometers away from Shaziling (also known as the American Station). With the cooperation of the local people, the maintenance of the "Twenty-Four Turns" road was completed and the smooth transportation was ensured. The American engineers stayed there until more than a month after the unconditional surrender of the Japanese army before gradually withdrawing. In 1945, the first convoy driven by the U.S. military arrived in Chongqing via the China-India Highway. Chiang Kai-shek delivered a speech "The Significance of the Connection of the China-India Highway" in Chongqing, and renamed the Yunnan-Guizhou Highway "Stilwell Highway". "Twenty-Four Turns" has thus been recorded in the annals of history along with the Stilwell Highway.
The "Twenty-Four Turns" Highway, as a major channel for the transportation of international aid to China in the Anti-Japanese War, made an indelible contribution to the overall victory of the Anti-Japanese War. This "lifeline" of the Anti-Japanese War was once famous all over the world for an old photo of a US military reporter, but it also became an "unknown hero road" hidden among the mountains due to different opinions on the specific location. It was not until 2002 that its location was determined under the visit of Ge Shuya, an expert on the history of the Anti-Japanese War in Yunnan and Burma. Qinglong County in Guizhou is known to the world as the beacon memory of the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War. According to records: In order to support the Anti-Japanese War, when the twenty-four turns were built, almost all the labor force that could be mobilized in Qinglong County was mobilized, and all the animals that could pull and camel were also mobilized. In Qinglong County, which had a population of less than 50,000, more than 3,800 people were recruited to the front line. One out of every six young and middle-aged people joined the Anti-Japanese War to defend their home and country.
Bai Yuhua, author of Jinmen.com