Ruins of Shidun Patrol Inspectorate City

Ruins of Shidun Patrol Inspectorate City

The ruins of the Shidun Patrol Inspectorate City are located in Yujiachang, southeast of Dalin Village, Huangwan Town (Jianshan New Area), Haining City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, adjacent to the old Shanghai–Hangzhou Highway to the south. Originally built in the 20th year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1387), it served as the site of the Shidun Patrol Inspectorate. After the 5th year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty (1740), it became the station of the Jianshan Xun Bazong (later renamed Qianzong).

The city site is square-shaped, with a perimeter of 240 zhang (approximately 799.2 meters), a height of one zhang and eight chi (approximately 5.99 meters), and a width of one zhang (approximately 3.33 meters). It was surrounded by a moat, with gates and drawbridges on the east and west sides. The brick-and-stone city walls were destroyed in the fierce battles between the Qing army and the Taiping Rebellion forces in the 3rd year of the Tongzhi reign (1864), and today only an elevated earthen mound remains.

This site is one of the few remaining military coastal defense structures from the Ming Dynasty's patrol inspectorate level in Zhejiang Province. It serves as an important subject for the study of Ming Dynasty city defense architecture and a significant physical example for researching the history of anti-Wokou struggles in Zhejiang.

On January 13, 2017, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units