Ming and Qing Beacon Towers

Ming and Qing Beacon Towers

The Ming and Qing Beacon Towers are protected as cultural heritage sites by Jiangsu Province.

Distributed across the Yuntai Mountain Range in Lianyun District and Haizhou District of Lianyungang City, these are important coastal defense relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1398), to guard against Japanese pirates and sea bandits, 14 beacon towers were established along the coast, with 4 more added later. By the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, 10 beacon towers and 30 guards remained. In the 2015 Ming and Qing Coastal Defense Survey, a total of 13 beacon towers were discovered, aligned in a linear pattern on both the northern and southern sides of the Yuntai Mountain Range in Lianyun District and Haizhou District, forming two communication routes from the coast to Haizhou City. Among them, the Nangu Shan Beacon Tower, Beigu Shan Beacon Tower, Sucheng Paotai Ding Beacon Tower, and Dacun Beacon Tower are relatively well-preserved, while the others are more severely damaged. The Nangu Shan Beacon Tower is located on the northern cliff of Nangu Shan Beacon Tower Mountain in Xugou Subdistrict, Lianyun District, Lianyungang City, facing the northeast sea. It consists of three levels of artificial terraces, with a diameter of about 10 meters and a remaining height of 2 meters. Surrounding it is a protective wall approximately 40 meters in diameter, 1.5 meters high, and 1 meter thick, all constructed from stone blocks. The Ming and Qing Beacon Towers of Lianyungang are significant coastal defense relics from the Ming and Qing periods, offering valuable insights into the architectural methods, structural features of military facilities, as well as the history of coastal defense and military affairs during those dynasties.

In 1993, the Nangu Shan Beacon Tower was designated as part of the second batch of cultural heritage sites protected by Lianyungang City. In 2019, the Ming and Qing Beacon Towers were listed as part of the eighth batch of cultural heritage sites protected by Jiangsu Province.