Shengzhou City Wall

Shengzhou City Wall

The Shengzhou City Wall is located at the southeastern foot of Lutai Mountain in the northern part of Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and on the northern side of the Yanxi River in the southern part of the city. It is a municipal-level cultural heritage site of Shengzhou. Today, two sections remain: one at the southeastern foot of Lutai Mountain in the north of the city, with a remaining length of 47.80 meters, and another on the northern side of the Yanxi River in the south of the city, stretching 590.30 meters.

According to the Jiatai-era "Huizhou Annals" from the Southern Song Dynasty: “Ancient records state that the county town had a circumference of twelve li, was twelve chi high, and twenty chi thick. Kong Ye’s account says that the county seat was originally located east of the river. When He Qi of the Wu Kingdom served as magistrate, he moved it, and the current county town was essentially established by him. To the south lies a large river, with rapid and violent currents. By the early Qingyuan era, erosion by the water had left only two or three chi of the wall remaining.” The Wanli-era "Shaoxing Prefecture Annals" states: “During the Jiajing era, when Japanese pirates became a threat, in the 34th year (of the Jiajing reign), Magistrate Wu Sanwei strongly petitioned for the construction of the city wall. It was over two zhang high, more than one zhang thick, with a total circumference of over 1,300 zhang, and had four gates: the eastern Gongming Gate, the southern Yingtai Gate, the western Laibai Gate, and the northern Wangyue Gate. Each gate had a tower, a moon city, and there was a floodgate on the eastern side.”

From east to west, the gates are: Dongmen (East Gate), Jiefangmen (Liberation Gate), Nanmen (South Gate), Hualongmen (Hualong Gate), and Gongnongmen (Workers and Peasants Gate). The outer side of the wall is built with strip stones, the inner side with block stones, and the middle filled with earth. It stands 3.30 to 4.80 meters high, with the top measuring 4.90 to 6.50 meters wide.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites