Chengshan Ancient City Ruins

Chengshan Ancient City Ruins

Chengshan Ancient City Ruins is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chengshan Ancient City Ruins (including Chengshan Stone Carvings, Chengshan Temple, and earthen city walls)

Period: Eastern Han Dynasty

The ancient city ruins are located atop Chengshan. Currently preserved features include earthen city walls, city gates, watch platforms, drum-beating mounds, military command platforms, and water pools. The city layout is roughly circular, consisting of two concentric walls: the inner wall has only partially survived; the outer wall ring remains largely intact, all built from rammed yellow earth. At cross-sections, only stamped pottery fragments have been found, with no other late-period relics. There is one city gate located at the northern end of the city wall ring, now preserved only as a gap; inside the gate is a water pool, likely used originally for defensive purposes. Historical records indicate that Yan Baihu, then magistrate of Wucheng, built this fortress to resist Lü Meng, nearly 1,800 years ago. It is one of the few surviving military fortresses in the province predating the medieval period, holding significant historical value. Other later-period cultural relics on Chengshan include Ming and Qing dynasty pagodas from Chengshan Temple, as well as stone carvings along mountain paths.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units