The Ancient City Wall of Yingzhou

The Ancient City Wall of Yingzhou

The Ancient City Wall of Yingzhou is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

The Ancient City Wall of Yingzhou is located in Yingzhou District, Fuyang City, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

It was part of the original city wall of Yingzhou Prefecture. In 1939, the wall was demolished, and today only two sections of ruins remain.

The name "Yingzhou" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, with the prefectural seat situated in the northern part of Gulong Subdistrict, Yingzhou District, Fuyang City today. It endured through the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties for over seven hundred years. In the second year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1574 AD), Zhao Shixiang, then magistrate of Yingzhou, extended the southern section of the city wall by more than five li. Together with the northern wall, the total length reached nine li and forty-four bu. The four gates were renamed: the eastern gate as "Yiyang Gate," the western gate as "Yiqiu Gate," the southern gate as "Yingxun Gate," and the northern gate as "Cheng’en Gate." A new gate, called "Wumen Tower," was opened from Wende Street. Located west of "Wanghu Gate," some later claimed, "Opening this Wumen Tower is inauspicious for Yingzhou City," so it was immediately sealed off, and no gate was rebuilt at the southern end of Wende Street where it met the wall. The new section of the city was built extending westward, hence featuring five corners with five watchtowers, also known as "Shulou." The southwest corner was called "Kedi Tower," also known as "Baiyi Tower" or "Yunzai Pavilion"; the southeast corner was called "Wanghuo Tower," also named "Kuixing Tower" or "Guaijiao Tower"—as "Huoshan Mountain" lies to the south, it was called "Wanghuo Tower"; the northwest corner was called "Kaige Tower"; the northeast corner was called "Xiangmeng Tower," also known as "Shenlong Tower," located east of today’s "Liu Qi Ancestral Hall." There was also a side gate on the northwest section of the city wall called "Daizhao Gate," collectively known as the "Ten Towers Around Yingzhou Prefecture." These included the East City Gate Tower, West City Gate Tower, South City Gate Tower, North City Gate Tower, Wumen Tower, Daizhao Gate Tower, Kedi Tower, Wanghuo Tower, Kaige Tower, and Xiangmeng Tower. If adding the South Gate Zhenying Tower (Drum Tower) of the old Shunchang Prefecture, the "Flower Opera Tower" inside the City God Temple, and the "Wenchang Tower" atop the Wenchang Pavilion on the eastern city wall, they were also referred to as the "Thirteen Towers Around Yingzhou Prefecture."

The Thirteen Towers Around Yingzhou Prefecture featured layered eaves, upturned corners, and were not only "Kedi Towers" and "Shulou," but also ideal spots for enjoying distant views. Built ingeniously into the city walls, these structures were grand in design, with majestic halls and angled eaves adorned with bells that rang for miles when the wind blew. The paths leading up to the towers twisted and turned, lined with tall, stately pines and cypresses. The Thirteen Towers rose proudly against the city skyline, with the Ten Towers along the wall being especially steep and precipitous. The high walls and deep moats made them highly defensible.

In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Nationalist government issued an order to dismantle the city walls. In 1939, Lai Gang, a division commander of the Guangxi Clique, arrived in Fuyang and forced laborers to tear down the gate towers and city walls. These ancient structures, which had stood for millennia, were almost entirely destroyed.

Of the ancient Thirteen Towers of Yingzhou, only one remains today—the "Kuixing Tower," also known as the "Wanghuo Tower" at the southeast corner. The existence of the "Wanghuo Tower" stands as a historical testament to the old Fuyang’s "Thirteen Towers with Upturned Eaves."

In 2012, the Ancient City Wall of Yingzhou was designated as part of the seventh batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units by the People's Government of Anhui Province.

Protected area: the architectural site of the ancient city wall.

Construction control zone: 10 meters beyond the protected area on all sides.