Ruins of Dasong City

Ruins of Dasong City

The ruins of Dasong City are a cultural tourism attraction.

The city wall of Dasong Garrison, located in Dongcheng Village and Xicheng Village, Zhanqi Town. Built in the 16th year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty as a military facility to defend against Japanese pirate invasions, it was constructed with irregular rough stones and rammed earth in the middle, encircling the area of Dasong Garrison. It had three city gates—east, west, and north. The gates were arched. There were two layers of gates—inner and outer—built with proper stone slabs. A moat surrounded the city wall, with the entire perimeter of the city measuring approximately five li.

Before and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the city wall suffered repeated natural and human damage, and by 1956 most of it had been demolished. To this day, remnants of the east gate can still be identified. On Phoenix Mountain to the north of the village, a section of over 700 meters of the wall remains, standing 7 meters high and 5 meters thick. Following the contours of the mountain, it is uneven in height. The top has collapsed in many places and has gaps, but it remains continuous and undeniably impressive. This site holds certain historical value for the study of military facilities from the Ming Dynasty.

The Fangqiao City Gate is a Qing Dynasty structure. Located in Fangqiao Village, Zhanqi Town, the gate along with its adjacent wall measures 11.81 meters in length, 3.87 meters in height, 1.89 meters in width, and the wall is 2.36 meters thick. The entire structure is built from miscellaneous stones. The gate itself is constructed with long stone slabs, with an arched top and a bluestone lintel inscribed horizontally with four running script characters reading “并立为三” (Standing Together as Three). The calligraphy is bold and free-flowing, with elegant strokes. On the upper right is the inscription “Reconstructed in the 22nd Year of the Daoguang Reign,” while the lower left reads “Inscribed by Ruchu.” On the eastern inner wall of the gate is embedded a small stele inscribed with: “Reason for Establishing the Three Sacrificial Affairs: In the 22nd Year of the Daoguang Reign, due to disturbances caused by the British, the city gate was constructed. It was completed in the 23rd year, along with a small guardhouse for managing locks and keys, proposed by the Yiyi and Yifu shrines, which donated fields as listed below, to be preserved for posterity, eternal and imperishable.” The lower inscription reads “Re-recorded in the First Sacrificial Year of the Daoguang Bingwu Year (1847).”

From this, it can be inferred that at the time, during the final years of the First Opium War, the British were causing disturbances and bandits were rampant, hence the city gate was built to ensure peace and security.