Ruins of the City Wall of Huzhou Zicheng

Ruins of the City Wall of Huzhou Zicheng

The ruins of the city wall of Huzhou Zicheng are a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

Huzhou Zicheng is located within the ancient city of Huzhou. Originally named Xiangwangcheng, it was named in honor of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu. The city was first built in the late Qin Dynasty. During the Qin era, Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang lived in a village by Taihu Lake in Huzhou. Xiang Yu had long harbored the ambition to overthrow the tyrannical Qin. When Emperor Qin Shi Huang made a southern inspection tour, Xiang Yu blurted out: “He can be overthrown and replaced by someone like me.” His uncle Xiang Liang quickly covered Xiang Yu’s mouth to prevent trouble, as the timing was not yet ripe. Later, this village came to be called Yanpu, also known as Xiangpu. In the ninth month of the first year of the reign of Qin Ershi (209 BC), Xiang Yu launched a peasant uprising. Leading rebel forces from Yanpu by Taihu Lake, he marched toward the county town. On the way, passing through Songyang (present-day Changxing County), he encountered resistance at a narrow mountain pass. With a mighty shout, he split the mountain open, leaving behind a passage known as “Barefoot Xiang’s Path” or “Xiang’s Split Mountain.” The cliffs there still bear marks resembling knee imprints and handprints. Local legends say these were left when King Xiang knelt to drink from the mountain stream. Historical records refer to them as “the knee prints of the giant.” Today, Bawang Pool remains an important tourist attraction on Guzhu Mountain. The Tongzhi-era Gazetteer of Huzhou from the Qing Dynasty also records that in the early Tang Dynasty, when the Chancellor Di Renjie came to Huzhou on an inspection and sought to demolish the Temple of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, the local elders immediately petitioned to have it preserved. That night, Di Renjie dreamed of debating with Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu argued that he had rendered meritorious service in raising an army for the nation and in protecting the people and their land, so why should he not be honored with folk worship? Upon waking, Di Renjie agreed with Xiang Yu’s reasoning and spared the temple. Xiang Yu led a life of great exploits, but due to strategic missteps, he met a tragic end. Nevertheless, the people of Huzhou have always regarded him as a hero and a source of pride for the city. After Xiang Yu’s death, not only was there a Temple of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu within Huzhou’s city walls, but there was also a Temple of King Xiang on Bian Mountain. During the mid-Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing served as Prefect of Huzhou. He erected a new stele for Xiang Yu at the Temple of King Xiang, honoring him as the God of Cangbian Mountain. As a result, one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Wuxing, Bian Mountain, is referred to as “Cangbian’s Clear Autumn.” Since the Temple of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu was located near the North Gate, the gate became commonly known as Bawangmen (King’s Gate), and the adjacent street was named Bawangmen Zhijie (King’s Gate Straight Street). The name Bawangmen continued in popular usage until recent years.

It was not until the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when Guo Pu built the outer Luocheng (encircling city) around Huzhou’s urban area, that Xiangwangcheng came to be called Zicheng (Inner City). Zicheng and Luocheng are relative terms, referring to the inner and outer cities respectively. The name Zicheng came more than 500 years after Xiangwangcheng. Zicheng was rectangular in shape, with a perimeter of one li, 367 bu (approximately 1.6 km), 237 bu (about 1030 feet) from east to west, and 136 bu (about 600 feet) from north to south. It had three gates: central, eastern, and western. The central gate faced south, situated between Fuxi Street and Shangyang Lane; the eastern gate was located in the middle of Shangtaihefang (now part of Renmin Road, stretching from Julong Building in the south to Gongyuan Intersection in the north); and the western gate was in the middle of Aishan Street. By the third year of the Taiping Xingguo era of the Song Dynasty (978), the Wuyue Kingdom (covering present-day Zhejiang) surrendered to the Song, and maintaining an inner city within the outer city no longer conformed to the regulations of the Song court. As a result, the imperial court ordered the demolition of Zicheng’s walls, and the city walls ceased to exist above ground.

During the construction of the pedestrian street in the city center, in November 2007, the foundations of Zicheng’s city walls were discovered at Shangtaihefang. The cross-section of the wall foundations revealed a rammed earth wall in the middle, indicating that the walls built by Xiang Yu in the late Qin Dynasty, like those of the ancient Gucheng at the foot of Jinggaishan Mountain during the Spring and Autumn period, were made of clay. Around the rammed earth wall were dated bricks inscribed with the Han Dynasty text “Made in the second year of Yongchu (108),” showing that when the Wu County government was stationed in Xiangwangcheng during the Han Dynasty, brick walls were built around the rammed earth structure for protection. In the spring and summer of 2008, the municipal museum organized professionals to excavate the Shangtaihefang area. After four months of effort and an excavation covering 1,500 square meters, the site of the eastern gate of Zicheng was finally discovered. The site included a passageway and the foundations of the gate walls, with the passageway being 4.6 meters wide and the gate wall foundations 9.8 meters thick.

The ruins of Huzhou Zicheng are located in the central urban area of Huzhou City, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. The site is well-preserved, offering visitors a glimpse into the ancient city’s historical legacy.

Address: West side of Renmin Road, Aishan Subdistrict, Wuxing District

Source: Huzhou Municipal People's Government

Aishan Subdistrict: Aishan Subdistrict is located in the central business district of Wuxing District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It stretches from Renmin Road in the east to National Highway 104 in the west, is bounded by the city river to the south, and reaches Longxi Port to the north, covering a total area of approximately 3.2 square kilometers. The subdistrict has jurisdiction over eight community committees, with a total population of 24,263 residents across 8,057 households. The subdistrict Party committee oversees five general branches and 25 Party branches, with 798 registered Party members. It has been designated as one national model point for creating civilized communities (Hongfeng Xicun), one provincial-level model community for urban Party building work (the General Branch of Hongfeng Xicun), and one provincial-level model neighborhood committee... More details about Aishan Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Zhejiang Province