Gaoyou City Wall and Kuilou

Gaoyou City Wall and Kuilou

Gaoyou City Wall and Kuilou is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province.

Gaoyou City Wall and Kuilou

The Gaoyou City Wall is situated at the southeast corner of Dieyuan Square in Gaoyou City. It was first built in the fourth year of the Kaibao era of the Northern Song Dynasty (971 AD), initiated by Gao Ning, the military governor of Gaoyou. In 1972, most of the wall was dismantled, with only a 122.7-meter section in the southeast remaining. The wall is made of blue bricks, stands 6.6 meters tall, with a base width of 2 meters and a top width of 0.87 meters, featuring 39 crenels. According to the Gazetteer of Gaoyou Prefecture, the original city wall had a circumference of ten li and 316 paces, was 2.5 zhang (approximately 8.3 meters) high, and 1.5 zhang (approximately 5 meters) wide. In 1985, the wall underwent restoration. The Ming Dynasty-era Kuilou sits atop the wall, and the moat at the base of the wall along with the East Water Gate still function today. The wall is a testament to the history of Gaoyou’s establishment and now forms part of the Dieyuan Scenic Area.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Jiangsu Province