The Wali Hutun City Site

Wali Hutun City Site

The Wali Hutun City Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Wali Hutun City Site is situated on a high riverside terrace on the right bank of the Songhua River in Wanlihe Village, Yuelai Town, Huachuan County, Heilongjiang Province. It faces the Songhua River to the north, the head branch of the Songhua River, Toudao River, to the west, and is about 2.5 kilometers south of Makuli Mountain. The southern wall lies within Wanlihe Village, while the eastern side is approximately 1,000 meters from Ma’anshan. The geographical coordinates are 46°10′07.1″N, 130°51′06.0″E, with an elevation of 108.4 meters. During the Liao Dynasty, this city was the ancient site of the Wuyue State’s Yue lidu; during the Jin Dynasty, it served as a Mang’an Muke fortress; in the Yuan Dynasty, it was the former site of the Tuowolian Wanhu Mansion; in the Ming Dynasty, it was the ancient Wanwei Guard City; and in the Qing Dynasty, it was the village of Wanli He Tun inhabited by the Hezhe people. The city was built along the terrain of the earthen terrace, taking an irregular shape. The walls were constructed by digging earth and ramming it into layered sections, with a total perimeter of 3,500 meters and an area of 800,000 square meters. The remaining wall height ranges from 4 to 10 meters, with a base width of 9 meters and a top width of 2.8 meters. There are four city gates, with the eastern and southern barbicans well-preserved in a semicircular shape—4.2 meters high on the inner side, 11.8 meters on the outer side, and 26.4 meters wide. The southern wall features two layers of fortification, and the western wall retains a well-preserved moat. The site is grand in scale, situated in a strategically rugged location, and offers a magnificent view where the city blends with the river and sky. In the northwest part of the city lies a round earthen platform commonly known as the “Jin Wushu Troop Inspection Platform,” which is 2 meters high, 40 meters in circumference, with a concave center about 3 meters in diameter and 2 meters deep. According to the *Huachuan County Annals*, “There is a cave beneath that leads to a tunnel, which goes straight north all the way to the riverbank.” Two north-south trenches are also found within the city. Numerous relics from various dynasties have been unearthed here, including a Jin Dynasty bronze seal inscribed with “Naowen Bihan Hezha Muke Seal,” “Dading Tongbao” coins, Song Dynasty “Chongning Tongbao” coins, and Yuan Dynasty (Phagspa script) bronze coins. The Wali Hutun City Site was approved and announced as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council on May 25, 2006. Located at the center of the Wuyue States, it served as the meeting city for the confederation and is the largest and most completely preserved site among them. Its existence holds significant value for the study of ancient Heilongjiang history and ethnic history.

A Jin Dynasty bronze seal, the Naowen Bihan Hezha Muke Seal, was unearthed within the city. On the left side is inscribed “Fourth Month, Fifth Day, Third Year of Zhenyou,” and on the right, “Made by the Ministry of Justice, Shangjing.” The *History of Jin* records: “The system of the Imperial Guards originated from the Hezha Muke. ‘Hezha’ means elite troops, named so because they were led by close relatives. When the capital was moved during the Zhenyuan era, it was renamed after Emperor Taizu, Prince Liaozong (?), and others... The two imperial guard divisions and the Hezha Muke divisions, among others, were all elite forces. This bronze seal, unearthed from the Wali Hutun site, provides material evidence supporting its historical status.”

In recent years, Huachuan County has implemented a series of protective measures for this National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. From 2009 to 2015, the state invested in setting up four national protection markers, one informational sign, and 200 boundary markers. In 2014, emergency protective measures were carried out at the Wali Hutun City Site, including constructing a 3,200-meter enclosed fence, a 200-square-meter cultural relics monitoring station, a 100-square-meter cultural relics exhibition shed, and a security surveillance system covering 38 points across the site. In 2015, a comprehensive protection plan for the Wali Hutun City Site was developed.

Moving forward, the cultural relics management department of Huachuan County will continue to follow the cultural relics protection principles of “protection first, rescue foremost, rational utilization, and strengthened management.” They will apply to the National Cultural Heritage Administration for an overall cultural relics protection project, including repairing water erosion gullies on the city walls to reinforce the structure, restoring parts of the original landscape from the Liao and Jin periods, and creating a cultural heritage site that showcases the primitive style of the Liao and Jin cultures. These efforts aim to make cultural relics protection more comprehensive and establish the site as an important historical and cultural attraction in the Sanjiang region. The total investment for the project is 90 million yuan, with an estimated 10 million yuan allocated in 2015 for the restoration and reinforcement of the ancient city walls.

Wanlihe Village: An Overview of Wanlihe Village

Wanlihe Village in Yuelai Town is located 21 kilometers northeast of Yuelai Town, bordering the Songhua River to the north and adjacent to Jiangchuan Farm to the south, east, and west. During the Liao and Jin Dynasties, Wanlihe Village was one of the Wuyue Cities, known as Yue li?. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Wali Hutun, and in the Qing Dynasty, its name evolved phonetically to Wanlihe Tong. In 1984, it was officially named Wanlihe Village. The “Wali Hutun Ancient City Ruins” within its territory are a provincial-level cultural relics and natural reserve. Wanlihe Village currently has a population of 182 households and 723 residents, residing in areas such as Wanlihe Mountain Pass, Front of the Mountain, Back of the Mountain, and East of the Mountain. The village covers a land area of 9,336 mu... More detailed information about Wanlihe Village ++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units