Xiwai Beacon Tower

Xiwai Beacon Tower

The Xiwai Beacon Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

The Xiwai Beacon Tower is located on a flat coastal terrace in the northwest of Xiwai Village, Tuanshan Subdistrict Office, Gaizhou City. To the south, it faces the Dundao Mountain Beacon Tower in Bayuquan across the sea; to the north, it connects with the Xihekou Beacon Tower; and to the east, it neighbors the Heyang Temple Beacon Tower.

The base of the tower is built on six layers of granite slabs, with 40 layers of large blue bricks stacked on top. The lengths of the base edges are: 9.7 meters on the south, 15 meters on the east, and 10 meters on the north; the lengths of the top edges are: 7.2 meters on the south, 13.8 meters on the east, and 7.6 meters on the north. The western wall has no brick facing but features a large earthen slope, measuring 24.6 meters in length and 13 meters in width.

According to historical records from the Ming Dynasty, the coastal provinces of the Ming often suffered harassment and even invasions by Japanese pirates, which disrupted the peace of the local people. In the early Ming period, defensive outposts were established along the coast. These coastal defenses were categorized into wei (garrison), suo (station), bao (fort), zhai (stockade), and guan (pass). Beacon towers, also known as fengdun, fengsui, duntai, or langyantai, were ancient alarm stations used to transmit military intelligence. In case of enemy activity, smoke signals were lit during the day (sui), and fires were lit at night (feng). According to Ming regulations, sulfur and saltpeter were added to aid combustion when lighting the smoke, and cannons were fired simultaneously. One smoke signal and one cannon shot indicated an attack by over a hundred enemies; three smoke signals and three cannon shots indicated an attack by over a thousand; and five smoke signals and five cannon shots signaled that the enemy force had reached tens of thousands.

In 1983, the Xiwai Beacon Tower was designated as a county-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2012, the Yingkou Municipal People’s Government declared it a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2014, the Liaoning Provincial People’s Government (Liaozheng Fa [2014] No. 27) listed it as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. The Yingkou Municipal People’s Government (Yingzheng [2013] No. 185) specified the protected area and construction control zone as follows: the protected area extends 6 meters outward from the outer walls of the Xiwai Beacon Tower; the Class V construction control zone lies within 6 meters north, 6 meters east, 30 meters south, and 30 meters west of the protected area.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, News, Radio, Television, and Publishing; Contributor: Dong Wenjie

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