Ruins of Lower Old City

Ruins of Lower Old City

The Ruins of Lower Old City are a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Site.

The Ruins of Lower Old City are located in Shangpan Town, Linhai City, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

According to the "Ming History · Geographic Records," it was built in September of the 20th year of the Hongwu era (1387) as the original Taozhu garrison town, constructed from rocks quarried nearby. It later served as a frontier outpost for Qi Jiguang’s resistance against Japanese pirates, and was largely demolished after the 1950s.

Lower Old City was built on Chenglitou Mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the East China Sea to the east, giving it a commanding elevated position. It originally had four gates—east, south, west, and north—each with a barbican. The city wall had a perimeter of 1,730 meters and covered an area of approximately 187,056 square meters. The northwest section was demolished in the early 1950s to make way for housing, and the south gate along with its barbican was destroyed in 1953. Judging from the relatively well-preserved north gate, the barbican was semi-circular, measuring 22 meters in length and 10 meters in width. Most of the city wall has collapsed, but parts of the ramparts remain, with some sections still preserved at the mountaintop. The remaining wall ruins are about 5 meters high and vary in width from 8 to 14 meters.

Lower Old City was the original garrison fortress of the Taizhou Fort, a national heritage site. It played an important role in the Ming Dynasty’s battles against Japanese pirates and holds significant historical value. Although centuries of weathering have eroded the walls, the overall scale remains discernible, offering research value in military history and coastal defense.

On January 13, 2017, it was designated as part of the Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites.

Shangpan Town: Located along the southeastern coast of Zhejiang Province, Shangpan Town is an undeveloped frontier area of the Jiao’bei Plain. It has 15,520 households, a population of 51,530, and covers an area of 128 square kilometers, including 64.3 square kilometers of land and 63.7 square kilometers of sea area. The town governs 42 administrative villages. Shangpan Town boasts prominent geographical advantages, vast territory, abundant resources, convenient transportation, and complete infrastructure. It is 18 kilometers from the international container terminal (Taizhou Port), 40 kilometers from Huangyan Airport, and 45 kilometers from the exit of the Yongtaiwen Expressway. With a 29-kilometer-long coastline, it has built standardized... More details about Shangpan Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites