Gallery road

Gallery roads were predominantly constructed to ease transportive strain across cliffs in rugged mountainous areas. One example is the Shu Road, which runs through some of China's most rugged and desolate terrains such as the Qinling and Daba Mountain ranges, to link the Wei River valley and the ancient capital of Chang'an, It used the plank road technique to secure pathways across cliffs and steep ravines.

The construction of gallery roads was tailored to the specific topographical features of the surrounding terrain, resulting in unique structural implementations. The most prevalent type of gallery road is a wooden plank road anchored to cliffs using holes and wooden piles, subsequently covered with wooden boards. An alternative method involved carving stone roads directly into cliff faces.

Modern reconstructions of gallery roads use more durable materials like steel and stone. Some sections have glass components intended to attract tourists.

Shudao

Shudao is the general name of the historic road that was constructed through the Qinling, Micang and Daba mountainous barrier. The main function of the Shudao is to connect the Wei River valley (today's Guanzhong) with the ancient capital Chang’An (today's Xi’An) in the north with Shu region (headquartered in today's Chengdu) in the south. The Shu Roads pass through some of the most rugged and desolate terrains in China. The first major highways were most likely built in the Warring States period (481-221 BCE). During the Qin (221-206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE, 220 CE) dynasties, this road network was massively improved upon. For the most part, the roads were built through natural corridors which had already been established as travel routes by their inhabitants. To build these important paths along the steep and dangerous cliff, the builders used the innovative road-building technique known as "Gallery Road" to fix the roads on the rock walls and cross the mountains, rivers and valleys.