Taizhou Ancient City

Taizhou Ancient City

Taizhou Ancient City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Taizhou City is located in Chengli Village, Taizhou Town, 41 kilometers southeast of Linhai City, Zhejiang Province, on the coast of the East China Sea.

The construction of Taizhou City began in the 20th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1387), when the Taizhou Garrison was established. A rammed-earth city wall was built to defend against Japanese pirate invasions. It was later relocated inland to Zhongjiucheng; in 1442, it was moved inland again; and in 1443, the new Taizhou Garrison City was built and has been preserved to this day. In 1559, after battles against the pirates, two watchtowers were added on the eastern and western sides; in 1564, the Taizhou City walls were repaired.

The overall layout of Taizhou City is roughly square-shaped, with a moat in front of the city walls and open fields to the southwest. According to the “Records of Taizhou Prefecture” and the “Linhai County Annals,” “the city walls are 21 chi (approximately 7 meters) high, and the perimeter is 2 li and 70 bu (approximately 1.4 kilometers).” The average height of the walls is about 4.6 meters, with an average width of around 5 meters, and the base of the walls is about 10 meters wide. Originally, there were fourteen watchtowers along the walls, all featuring crenellated “horse-face” exterior walls. Twelve remain today—three on the eastern wall, two on the southern wall, two on the western wall, one on the northern wall, and one at each of the four corners. There are three city gates in Taizhou City, one each on the eastern, southern, and western sides. The eastern gate is positioned slightly south; the southern gate is positioned slightly east; the western gate is similar to the eastern one and also slightly south. All the gates are arched. Outside each of the three main gates is a second gate, forming a semicircular enclosed space that serves as an additional defensive barrier beyond the inner gate—this is known as the “barbican.” The barbican gate of the eastern barbican is tall and vertical, facing south; the structure of the southern barbican’s secondary gate is the same as that of the eastern one, but it faces east; the western barbican’s secondary gate shares both structure and orientation with the eastern one. The barbicans of Taizhou City served multiple purposes: providing defending soldiers with excellent conditions to outmaneuver pirates during battle, acting as a means to “ward off evil spirits,” and shielding the city from windblown dust from the outskirts.

Inside Taizhou City, dozens of historical sites are well-preserved, including cliff inscriptions from the Ming Dynasty, temples, nunneries, and ancient residential buildings constructed across various dynasties of the Ming and Qing periods. Among them are the large cliff inscriptions “Gazing into the Distance” and “Guarding the Sea” carved during the Ming Dynasty, as well as the stone stele “Record of the Construction of the New Watchtower at Taicheng.” Temples and nunneries include the Tianfei Palace, dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu, built during the Ming Dynasty, the Guan Di Temple, and the Guanyin Hall constructed during the Qing Dynasty. There are also historic residences such as the Drum Tower, Heqiao Academy, the Liu Family Ancestral House, the Lang Family Ancestral House, and the Lang Defeng Ancestral House. Historical relics include Buddhist prayer pillars.

Taizhou City is the best-preserved garrison town in Zhejiang Province and serves as an important physical resource for studying the Ming Dynasty’s military defense system and coastal fortifications. In 2001, as an ancient architectural site from the Ming Dynasty, it was included in the fifth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Chengli Village: Chengli Village is situated at Taizhou City, 60 kilometers southeast of Linhai City, and is under the jurisdiction of Taizhou Town. The village area was originally a bay surrounded by mountains on three sides, which became a land spit after land reclamation and was named after the peach trees planted there. The road from Linhai to Dongyang Town on the coast passes at the foot of the city. In 1992, the village had 655 households and 2,290 residents, living both inside and outside Taizhou City. There were 1,022 mu of cultivated land and 1,739 mu of mountainous land. The main surnames in the village are Lang, Liu, and Wu.

A Renowned Anti-Pirate Fortress and a Tourist Destination

Located between the Sanmen Bay and the Taizhou Bay, Taizhou City lies to the east of the flatlands... More details about Chengli Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units