The Qian Family Seawall of the Wu-Yue Kingdom

The Qian Family Seawall of the Wu-Yue Kingdom

The Qian Family Seawall of the Wu-Yue Kingdom is a cultural heritage site protected by the city of Hangzhou.

The Qian Family Seawall of the Wu-Yue Kingdom is located within the old seawall area from Six Harmonies Pagoda to Genshanmen in downtown Hangzhou.

It was built in the fourth year of the Kaiping era (910 AD) during the Later Liang Dynasty, when Qian Liu, the king of the Wu-Yue Kingdom, mobilized soldiers and civilians to construct the seawall outside Hou Chao Gate and Tongjiang Gate. Historical records state that Hangzhou had suffered greatly from the tidal bore of the Qiantang River since the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Tang Dynasty, when Cui Yan was the prefect of Hangzhou, the city expanded southeastward. Although a sand seawall over five li long was built in the southeastern part of the city, the tidal threat remained—“In the ninth month of the second year of the Guanghua era, the Qiantang River flooded, destroying many residential houses.” During one particularly devastating tidal surge at the beginning of Qian Liu’s reign, “from the southeast of Mount Qinwang to Shibao, thousands of acres of farmland were entirely submerged, and the people could hardly endure the disaster.” The construction of the Qian family seawall first involved driving six layers of piles made from large logs sourced from Luoshan Mountain, 29 Chinese feet away from the shore. Between each layer, bamboo cages filled with stones and soil were used for reinforcement, referred to as the mud seawall. Beyond the mud seawall, over ten rows of piles were driven to weaken the force of the water. Inside the mud seawall, stones were piled to form a solid embankment. The seawall stretched 338,593 zhang (approximately 112.8 kilometers) from Six Harmonies Pagoda to Genshanmen and cost 109,440 strings of cash. The scale of the Qian family seawall project was massive, utilizing relatively advanced engineering methods of the time, which largely prevented the backflow of tidal water. This helped free Hangzhou residents from the threat of tides, desalinate the land, and increase agricultural yields. Wen Tianxiang praised its achievement, saying: “Its benefits were not limited to securing peace for just one era—it truly represents a merit lasting a thousand years, and stands as a model worthy of emulation for a hundred generations.”