Xingcheng City Wall

Xingcheng City Wall

Xingcheng City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Xingcheng City Wall is located in Xingcheng, in the southwestern part of Liaoning Province.

Xingcheng Ancient Town was the Ningyuan Wei Fortress during the Ming Dynasty and the Ningyuan Zhou Town during the Qing Dynasty. It is the best-preserved ancient town among those that still exist in China. The city wall was originally built in the fifth year of the Ming Xuande era (1430) and was renovated in the forty-sixth year of the Qing Qianlong era (1781).

The ancient town is nestled against mountains and by the sea, presenting a majestic and spectacular appearance. Its layout is square-shaped, with each side approximately 880 meters long. There are city gates on all four sides, corner towers at each of the four corners, and the total area is about 600,000 square meters. The city wall stands 10.1 meters high in total, with a parapet wall 1.7 meters high, a base width of 6.3 meters, and a top width of 4.5 meters. The outer side is built with blue bricks, while the inner side is made of rough stones. Originally, there were gate towers above all four city gates, but now only the ones above the southern and western gates remain. Each of the four gates had a barbican, though most have been demolished or partially dismantled.

Xingcheng Ancient Town is a renowned historical and cultural city. The famous Ming Dynasty general Yuan Chonghuan once stationed here and successfully repelled Qing forces on several occasions. In January of the sixth year of the Ming Tianqi era (1626), the Qing Taizu Nurhaci led an army of 130,000 to besiege Ningyuan City. Legend has it that he was seriously wounded during the attack. In May of the seventh year of the Tianqi era (1627), the Qing Taizong Hong Taiji led troops to besiege Jinzhou without success, then turned to attack Ningyuan again but was driven back by Yuan Chonghuan—this victory is known as the “Ning-Jin Grand Victory.” Xingcheng Ancient Town is a typical example of a flatland northern city from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and very few such well-preserved ancient towns of this type remain today. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units