Gai Zhou Ancient City

Gai Zhou Ancient City

Gai Zhou Ancient City is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

Gai Zhou Ancient City is located within the jurisdiction of Gulou Subdistrict, Gai Zhou City. It was established during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty by Commander Wu Yu. The *Fengtian General Annals, Volume 87: Construction I - Fortifications* records: “The county seat of Gaiping County. According to the *Complete Records of Liaoyang*: The city of Gai Zhou Guard was built on the former site of the Liao Dynasty’s Chenzhou. In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, Commander Wu Yu constructed the city. In the ninth year, Marquis Jingbian expanded the southern part and laid bricks. The city measured five li and eighty-eight bu in circumference, stood fifteen chi high, with a moat fifteen chi deep and eighteen chi wide. The perimeter was five li and one hundred twenty-seven bu, with three gates: Shunching in the east, Guang’en in the south, and Ninghai in the west, all equipped with gate towers. In the Jiayin year of the Jiajing reign, Lu Pei, the garrison commander, built watchtowers at the four corners of the city walls. The *Shengjing General Annals* records: “Gaiping County town is the former Gai Zhou Guard city of the Ming Dynasty. It was renovated in the forty-third year of the Qianlong reign.” The *Gai Ping County Annals* records: “The city was divided into East Street, South Street, Dongguan, and Xiguan.”

The city has largely retained the layout of the Ming and Qing periods, with discernible contours of the city site and some remnants of the original walls still present. The city is generally aligned along a north-south axis, originally featuring three gates: the eastern gate named “Shunching,” the western gate named “Ninghai,” and the southern gate named “Guang’en,” with no northern gate. The city walls once had crenellations, and structures such as the Kuixing Tower, gate towers, horse paths, and barbicans have all been lost. The city wall is built upon large stone foundations and clad with blue bricks, using the standard Ming Dynasty construction method with layers of yellow earth, broken bricks, and lime filling between inner and outer blue brick layers. The wall is approximately 8.5 meters wide, with the highest surviving section reaching about 10.5 meters. The joints were sealed with white lime plaster, about 2 cm thick. The blue bricks measure roughly 40 cm in length, 19 cm in width, and 10 cm in thickness.

The overall shape of the city is roughly square. Measurements show the city is 880 meters long from north to south, 750 meters wide from east to west, with a perimeter of 3,260 meters and a total area of about 660,000 square meters. The city walls and gates have gradually deteriorated and been destroyed, leaving only two surviving fragments of the eastern wall totaling about 350 meters. The northern fragment is about 200 meters long, approximately 10.5 meters high, and has been incorporated into local residential walls. The southern fragment is about 150 meters long, showing blue brick construction, with the highest remaining section about 8.5 meters, and parts of the wall repurposed as gables for houses. The rest of the walls have been completely lost.

Currently, the city preserves valuable ancient architecture including the Xuanzhen Taoist Temple, Gai Zhou Bell and Drum Tower, Gai Zhou God of Wealth Temple, Sanjiang Guild Hall, Fujian Guild Hall, Chongjiao Temple, Pujie Temple, and historic buildings along the Ming-Qing South Gate Street, as well as numerous traditional courtyard homes and standalone residences. South Gate Ming-Qing Street, as a thoroughfare running through the ancient city, was a main route during the Ming and Qing periods, lined with many shops. Many buildings from that time remain, constructed in the Republican era or earlier, originally erected by various merchant associations. Some buildings have undergone façade renovations, while others have been altered or repurposed as residences due to street expansion, but most retain their original architectural character. The city’s diverse architecture includes government offices, medical facilities, guildhalls, shops, residences, and religious buildings such as temples and churches. Architectural styles include the distinctive granary-style roofs unique to southern Liaoning, as well as flush-gable roofs. Most structures preserve their original layouts and construction methods, serving as rare examples of authentic ancient architecture. Such a comprehensive and well-preserved historical ensemble is now extremely rare nationwide, holding significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.

As early as over two thousand years ago during the Han Dynasty, Gai Zhou was an important county administrative center. Numerous Han Dynasty tombs have been discovered around the city. Thanks to its strategic position along north-south trade routes and its coastal advantages, merchants gathered here, gradually making it a major town in eastern Liaoning. By the Ming Dynasty, Gai Zhou Ancient City had been fully bricked, and its internal street layout had been refined. Since the Qing Dynasty, Gai Zhou has been known as the “thoroughfare of commerce and wealth” in the northeast, “renowned across Fujian and heard as far as the Three Rivers.” The city’s government offices and traditional courtyard residences retain their original styles and layouts, offering invaluable insights into southern Liaoning’s quadrangle dwellings—now exceedingly rare and considered the crown jewels of Gai Zhou Ancient City.

Cities have traditionally served as hubs of politics, economy, and culture, often located along key transportation routes. During the Han Dynasty, the main road network centered on Xiangping (modern-day Liaoyang) included a north-south artery from Xiangping to Tashi (modern-day Lushunkou), which passed through what is now Gai Zhou Ancient City. This route continued to be used in subsequent dynasties, serving as the Liaoyang–Lushunkou passage during the Liao, Jin, and Yuan periods. The Ming Dynasty marked a peak in activity along this north-south corridor, as it functioned as a vital military supply and grain transport route. Gai Zhou Ancient City also hosted the Gai Zhou post station along the Ming imperial courier route. After the Qing Dynasty established a road network centered on Shengjing (modern-day Shenyang), the route from Shengjing through Liaoyang, Gai Zhou, and Jinzhou to Lushun Harbor retained Gai Zhou as a crucial node—an important hub for north-south traffic and part of the Shengjing relay system.

Gai Zhou enjoys a pleasant climate and is surrounded by mountains and water, blessed with abundant natural resources and a thriving economy and culture. For millennia, people—primarily of Han ethnicity—have created a rich historical tapestry here. Since the establishment of the Han Dynasty’s Liaodong Commandery and county administration, successive dynasties have maintained local governance institutions with relatively stable jurisdictions. Numerous Han Dynasty ruins and tombs discovered near Gai Zhou City attest to its enduring role as the political, economic, military, and cultural center of the region since ancient times. Particularly during the Ming and Qing periods, Gai Zhou reached the pinnacle of its historical significance, as evidenced by the surviving ancient architecture. Early in the Ming Dynasty, the city underwent expansion to consolidate defenses, stabilize the region, and develop its economy, becoming a notable urban center in the northeast. The Qing Dynasty further elevated Gai Zhou as a north-south trade artery, prosperous and rich in resources.

Due to its historical prominence, political and economic environment, and strategic location, Gai Zhou became the first trading port in the northeast during the Ming Dynasty. Merchants from inland and southern China flocked to Gai Zhou for business. Southern ships sailed up the Daqing River from Xihékou, reaching directly outside the South Gate of Gai Zhou. The Ming and Qing periods saw vibrant economic and trade activities. The local economy flourished, with a growing population of small and medium landowners, merchants, and craftsmen, driving the city’s prosperity. Gai Zhou hosted not only merchant associations such as the Sanjiang, Fujian, Shandong, Shanxi, and Jinzhou Guild Halls, but also numerous bustling shops within the city. From Daduizi to Dongguan, Ming-Qing era architecture abounds. In 1986, renowned architectural historian and cultural relics archaeologist Cao Xun surveyed and evaluated the area, concluding that commercial prosperity was inseparable from trade, and that the architecture of shops and residences exemplified the style of Ming and Qing buildings. The establishment of the Gai Zhou South Gate Wharf marked a pivotal moment—not only transforming Gai Zhou from a traditional agricultural and pastoral hub into the largest inland commercial center in the northeast, but also signifying the dawn of a market economy across inland northeastern China.

Gai Zhou is a land of talent, blessed with scenic beauty and a rich cultural and educational heritage nurtured by its historical significance. The city has produced numerous cultural figures and timeless works of art, establishing itself as a true cultural treasure trove and a historically renowned city. Today, Gai Zhou Ancient City is one of the few remaining ancient cities in the northeast, and among them, it is the best preserved, retaining authentic Ming-Qing relics and urban frameworks—a truly “original flavor” ancient city.

In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People’s Government designated Gai Zhou City Site as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2014, the Liaoning Provincial People’s Government (Liaozhengfa [2014] No. 27) listed it as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, News, and Broadcasting. Contributor: Dong Wenjie

Gulou Subdistrict: Gulou Subdistrict is located in Gai Zhou City, Yingkou, Liaoning. It governs:

210881001001 111 Xiguan Community

210881001002 111 Yonghe Community

210881001003 111 Beiguan Community

210881001004 111 Xingchen Community

210881001005 111 Dongguan Community

210881001006 111 Qianjin Community

210881001008 111 …… More details on Gulou Subdistrict++