Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall Ruins

Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall Ruins

The Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall Ruins is a cultural tourism attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During China’s history, the Great Wall was built on three large scales during the Qin, Han, and Ming dynasties. The section that passes through Jinxi is the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, also known as the “Liaodong Border Wall,” and is part of the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall. The Liaodong Great Wall was constructed from the second year of the Zhengtong era to the thirty-seventh year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1437–1609 AD). The History of Ming records: “Thus, throughout the Ming Dynasty, frontier defense was of great importance. It stretched from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayu Pass in the west, spanning ten thousand li, with defenses divided across territories.” The Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall started from the northern Zizishan Mountain where it connected with the Jizhou Town Great Wall in the west, extended north to Yixian County, east to Heishan, then turned toward Kaiyuan and Changtu, and reached the banks of the Yalu River in the southeast, with a total length of over 1,000 li.

The Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall runs in a southwest–northeast direction within Lianshan. It enters from Yuantaizi Manchu Township in Xingcheng City in the southwest, passes by Waitao Mountain south of Sierpu Town to Laobian, crosses over a mountain ridge north of the village into Shahaoying Township, goes through the western gully of Shuikouzi and over the southern hill of Gaojiatun, crosses the highway and reaches Changling Mountain via the southern hill of Huangtukan. It then follows the ridge of Xiaohongluo Mountain turning due north, climbs to the peak north of Pandao Gully within today’s Tashan Township, turns northeast at Maojiagou within today’s Daxing Township, passes through Er’tai Zi west of Hongluoxian and Shuangtaizi into the flatlands. It crosses the Nü’er River at Huotai Zi, passes by Jijitun’s Jinjialazi and Beian, and exits at Shuikouzi Village. It traverses seven townships and 53 villages in Lianshan, with a total length of 32.5 kilometers.

The Ming Dynasty Liaodong Town Great Wall within Lianshan is mainly divided into three parts: stone walls, cliff barriers, and earthen walls. There are two distinct sections of stone walls: the first runs from the back mountain of Beilaobian to the western gully of Shuikouzi; the second extends from Changling Mountain and Pando Gully to Er’tai Zi. Built on foundations four to five meters wide, these are dry-laid stone walls filled with stone rubble, with transverse walls called stone crenellations built at intervals. Remnants of the stone wall foundations can be found on the southern hills of Sierpu, Shahaoying, and the southern hill of Huangtukan, totaling 19.7 kilometers in length. Cliff barriers are located on Xiaohongluo Mountain, where steep cliffs were slightly modified to take advantage of the natural terrain, with remnants still visible, totaling 12.8 kilometers. Earthen walls are found on the flatlands of Hongluoxian and Tijitun, where only earthen ridges are visible in some areas, while most traces have disappeared. There are 45 enemy towers made of brick, stone, and earth mounds along the wall, 17 beacon towers built with brick and stone along the mountain ridges within the wall, as well as six fortresses distributed across Songshansi Fort, Shahaofort, Changling Mountain Fort, Duancitong Fort, Daxing Fort, and Dafu Fort. Additionally, in Xibaihuayaozi Village west of today’s Daxing Township, there is one Baihuazhai Ironworks Hundred-Household Post, and in Tashan Township, there is one Tashan Thousand-Household Post.