Xinghua Ancient City Wall

Xinghua Ancient City Wall

The Xinghua Ancient City Wall is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Xinghua Ancient City Wall was first built in the first year of the Baoqing era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1225 AD). At that time, the people of Xinghua dug a river and used the excavated earth to construct an earthen wall encircling the city, stretching 6 li and 157 steps in length and over one zhang in height. The wall had four city gates, each topped with a tower, and was surrounded by a moat.

By the fifth year of the Hongwu era in the Ming Dynasty (1372 AD), the wall was rebuilt with bricks, reaching a height of over 11 meters. The four gates, facing the four cardinal directions, were named Qiyuan Gate, Wenming Gate, Weiwu Gate, and Zhaozhui Gate, with their towers called Guanhai Tower, Huaixun Tower, Jianshan Tower, and Yangchen Tower respectively. In the 37th year of the Jiajing era (1558 AD), to defend against the harassment of Japanese pirates, the city wall was comprehensively reconstructed and completed the following year. The wall underwent multiple renovations thereafter. During the Republican era, small gates — Little South Gate, Little East Gate, and Little North Gate — were added to facilitate traffic, bringing the total number of gates to seven.

The Xinghua City Wall historically played a significant role in resisting foreign invaders. Among the most famous defenses was the heroic resistance led by County Magistrate Hu Gongchen, who commanded the military and civilians to fight against the Yuan army. The battle was fierce, and although Xinghua City ultimately fell due to lack of reinforcements, County Magistrate Hu chose to perish with the city. This tale of heroism remains deeply moving.

The Xinghua City Wall was once a popular site for sightseeing. Tang Zhen, a great thinker from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, climbed the wall and wrote the poem “Viewing from the Ramparts of Xinghua County” —

A lone city by wild waters forgets the dusk,

Rice fields and reeds mark the water’s edge.

Fierce winds stir fears of tides rushing in,

High autumn skies dread the stormy shoals’ dash.

Dragons and fish in rainy depths are lost,