Site of the Lower Gu City

Site of the Lower Gu City

The Site of the Lower Gu City is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The Site of the Lower Gu City is located at the foot of Jinggaishan Mountain in the southern suburbs of Huzhou City and is a national key cultural relics protection unit. Bordered by the Dongtiaoxi River to the southeast and backed by Jinggaishan Mountain to the north, the site was once the seat of both the Gu County of the Chu State during the Warring States period and the Wucheng County established in the Qin Dynasty. It earned the name “Lower Gu City” because it was “situated by a watery expanse with fields of wild rice plants stretching as far as the eye can see.” It was built in the 15th year of King Kaolie of Chu during the Warring States period (248 BCE).

The Site of the Lower Gu City is the earliest and best-preserved ancient city ruin among those in southeastern China.

The site consists of an inner and an outer city wall. The outer city (also called the double-walled city) covers an area of approximately 200,000 square meters, while the inner city (or sub-city), located in the southeastern corner of the outer city, spans about 80,000 square meters. The city walls of the Lower Gu City were all built by ramming yellow earth. The walls vary in height from 6 to 9 meters, with the upper part being 3–5 meters wide and the base 20–30 meters wide, forming a trapezoidal cross-section.

Among the city wall ruins of the Lower Gu City, there are fragments of stamped pottery, proto-porcelain, and sand-tempered pottery. At the nearby mountaintops, there are structures known in local legend as ancient “beacon mounds,” which archaeologists refer to as either earthen mound tombs or stone-chamber tombs.

Today, a memorial wall has been constructed within the inner city of the Lower Gu City site. Standing 3 meters high and 18 meters wide, the wall is built from granite and inscribed with the long history of the Lower Gu City.

Daochang Township: Located at the southern gateway of Huzhou’s urban center, Daochang Township is a “fengshui treasure” in the southern suburbs, dotted with rivers, lakes, creeks, and lush green hills. Since ancient times, it has enjoyed a reputation as a “land of verdant mountains and clear waters, rich in fish, rice, and silk, and abundant in cultural heritage.” The township blends a rich cultural tradition with vast farmland. Covering an area of 75.56 square kilometers, it administers 12 administrative villages, 180 villager groups, 6,030 households, and a total population of 20,971 people. It has 18,000 mu of arable land and 52,000 mu of mountainous land. Transportation is highly convenient, with the Chang-Hang-Shen Waterway and the diverted Dongtiaoxi River running through the area. 1…… More details about Daochang Township++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units