Santaizi Beacon Tower

Santaizi Beacon Tower

The Santaizi Beacon Tower is a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Liaoning Province.

The Santaizi Beacon Tower is located in Santaizi Village, Shahe Town, Suizhong County, Liaoning Province. Built in the fourth year of the Longqing era during the Ming Dynasty (1570), it was constructed under the supervision of General Qi Jiguang, the Grand Coordinator, with the purpose of defending against border threats. In 1988, it was designated as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People's Government of Liaoning Province.

The Santaizi Beacon Tower is a circular brick-and-stone structure with a base diameter of 18 meters and an overall height of 12 meters. The base is built with strip stones and stands 2.7 meters high. The main body is constructed using blue bricks laid in a one-header-one-stretcher pattern across 70 layers, with stone nails embedded in between. The top features crenellations, a central beacon fire pit, and a rectangular watchhouse, surrounded by windbreak walls to shield against sandstorms. On the northern side, there is a semicircular stone arched gate, 1.7 meters high and 1 meter wide, with two dragon-head stone steps below the gate. There is also a drainage spout on each of the eastern and western sides of the tower top.

The Santaizi Beacon Tower is taller than most beacon towers and has a complete command system. It played an important role in frontier defense during the Ming Dynasty. Despite over four hundred years of weathering, the tower remains in good external condition, with well-preserved features such as the beacon fire pit, arched gate, dragon-head stone steps, crenellations, observation holes, and stone drainage. It provides valuable historical physical evidence for the study of Ming Dynasty military defense installations.

The Santaizi Beacon Tower is currently a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Santaizi Village: Santaizi Village... More details about Santaizi Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units in Liaoning Province