Zhongqiansuo City

Zhongqiansuo City

Zhongqiansuo City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Zhongqiansuo City is located 44 kilometers west of Suizhong County in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, on the north side of the current Beijing-Shenyang Railway. It is the most well-preserved "suo city" in Liaoning. Constructed in the third year of the Ming Dynasty's Xuande era (1428), "Zhongqiansuo" stands for "Zhongqian Thousand-Household Garrison."

The city is roughly square-shaped, measuring 510 meters from east to west and 502 meters from north to south. It is not perfectly aligned to the cardinal directions but is offset by around 40 degrees. The city walls currently stand 8 meters high, with a base width of 6.3 meters and a top width of 5.3 meters. The lower parts of the walls are built with strip stones. The crenellations on the wall tops no longer exist. At the center of the city lies a cross-shaped main street leading to the three gates on the east, south, and west sides, named Dingyuan Gate, Guangding Gate, and Yongwang Gate respectively. On the northern side is an embedded stone plaque inscribed with the characters “中前所” (Zhongqiansuo). The city gates were constructed using blue bricks in a six-doubling horizontal arch technique, with white lime used to fill the joints. The gate passages are 6 meters high and 4.2 meters wide. On the inner side of the city gates, one can ascend to the top of the wall via sloped ramparts (known as “马道” or “madao”). Currently, only remnants of the madao on the eastern gate remain. There are square platforms at each of the four corners of the city walls, though only the one at the southwest corner is relatively well-preserved.

Zhongqiansuo City has a long history and is the first city beyond Shanhaiguan, historically a strategic military stronghold. In the eighth year of the Chongde era (1644), Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty dispatched Prince Zheng Jirgalang and Ajige to attack the Ming Dynasty’s Ningyuan City (present-day Xingcheng). They captured Zhonghousuo (present-day Suizhong City), Qiantun Wei City, and Zhongqiansuo City, among other cities in Suizhong, clearing the path for the Qing army’s entry into the Central Plains.

In May 2006, Zhongqiansuo City, recognized as an ancient architectural site from the Ming to Qing periods, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Liaoning Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units