Minyue King City (Ancient City of the Minyue People)

Minyue King City (Ancient City of the Minyue People)

The Wuyishan Chengcun Han City, also known as Guyue City or Min King City, is located 21 kilometers from the Wuyishan Scenic Area, adjacent to Nangu Road. The city site covers an area of 480,000 square meters. Inside the city walls were the palaces where nobility and royalty resided, while numerous ruins such as official buildings, residences, workshops, and tombs are distributed outside the city. This city represents a distant chapter created by the ancient Minyue people in the vast wilderness. Although the palaces and mansions of kings and nobles have long vanished with the passage of time, the aura of their former might can still be faintly felt. Nearby the ruins, a Fujian Minyue King City Museum has been built, covering an area of 15 mu. The main structure of the museum consists of one entrance hall, two main exhibition halls, and two corridors, forming a typical Han-style architecture. The museum displays a large number of cultural relics unearthed from the ancient Han city, serving as a vivid window into the rise and fall of ancient Han history.

In 209 BC, the peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang broke out, and people across the country responded in kind. Wuzhu led the Minyue troops from central Min to march northward in support of the Central Plains peasant uprising, striking against the Qin regime. In 206 BC, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the outbreak of the Chu-Han Contention, Wuzhu marched north again to assist Liu Bang in defeating Xiang Yu, making significant contributions to the establishment of the Han Dynasty. In 202 BC, as a reward for helping Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu, Liu Bang appointed Wuzhu as the King of Minyue, granting him rule over central Min, with Xianyou falling within his domain. It was also in that same year that Wuzhu began constructing the Minyue King City in Chengcun. Covering an area of 480,000 square meters, the city had four gates. Between the eastern and western gates was a 10-meter-wide avenue paved with cobblestones. To the north of the avenue lay the palace area, spanning 20,000 square meters, with the main hall alone covering over 900 square meters. At that time, the Minyue Kingdom was the most powerful state in the southeastern region during the Han Dynasty, and the Chengcun King City was the largest city in the southeast. Over the following nearly century of development, the Minyue people maintained the customs, religious beliefs, culture, and arts of the ancient Baiyue culture of Fujian’s distant past, while also being influenced to some extent by Han Chinese culture in politics and economy—thus creating the splendid culture of the ancient Minyue Kingdom. After Wuzhu’s death, internal strife ensued, leading to frequent wars. The Baiyue peoples were subsequently subjugated, and surrounding Liu-family kingdoms sought favor with the Minyue Kingdom through gifts of treasures. The Minyue Kingdom had grown into a powerful force in the southern part of the Western Han Dynasty. Wuzhu’s descendant, the Eastern Ou King Yu Shan, eventually went so far as to carve the seal of “Emperor Wu” and proclaim himself emperor, even launching military campaigns against the Han. By this time, the Western Han Dynasty, having enjoyed nearly decades of peace and prosperity, had become a wealthy and powerful nation—especially during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, when the dynasty reached its zenith. He could not tolerate the growing strength of regional powers. After defeating the northern Xiongnu and resolving the threat from the north, Emperor Wu of Han dispatched four armies totaling hundreds of thousands of soldiers to besiege the Minyue Kingdom. At the same time, he employed strategies to divide and weaken the Minyue Kingdom from within, persuading the Minyue King Jugu and some nobles to kill Yu Shan and surrender. To eliminate future threats once and for all, Emperor Wu of Han ordered the entire Minyue population to be relocated to the Jianghuai inland regions, and the city walls and palaces of the Minyue Kingdom were burned to the ground. The ancient Chengcun City and its palaces were destroyed in 110 BC by the army sent by Emperor Wu of Han.

The Minyue King City ruins consist of three groups of east-west oriented hills and a central area—the Gaohuping Palace District. The city site spans three continuous small hills, with city walls built along the undulating terrain. Within the city wall ruins, there are tiered high platforms and visible trenches. Although the palaces and mansions of royalty have long since vanished over 2,000 years ago, the foundations and outlines remain faintly visible. Standing amid the ruins, one can deeply sense the weight and vicissitudes of history. The site is irregularly rectangular in shape, approximately 860 meters long from north to south, 550 meters wide from east to west, and covers an area of about 480,000 square meters. The city walls of the King City still preserve well-built rammed earth walls on the surrounding hills, with a measured perimeter of 2,896 meters, remaining heights of 2–8 meters, and general heights of over 4 meters. The city had four land gates and three water gates, all of which are relatively well-preserved. Outside the city walls, in addition to natural deep valleys and depressions, there are generally remnants of wall and moat structures.

Interior Architecture of the King City: The terrain inside the city is divided into three parts: south, north, and central. The south is dominated by Dagangtou; the north features Madagang; and the central area comprises Xiasi Gang, Xiashi Ping, and Gaohuping. The palace district is located on Gaohuping in the center of the city, reflecting the ancient Chinese concept of placing the palace at the center. Over the past 40 years, tens of thousands of Han Dynasty artifacts have been unearthed at the site, many of which are of high value. The finest pieces are housed in the Fujian Provincial Museum and the Wuyishan Minyue King City Museum.

Suggested Duration

Half a day

Transportation

Take bus No. 6 within Wuyishan City to the intersection at the bus company entrance on Wujiumei Road, then transfer to the Wuyishan-Xingtian (Chengcun) shuttle bus (four daily departures at 6:40, 9:50, 12:20, and 15:30), approximately 11 RMB

Ticket Price

Minyue King City Palace Ruins Ticket: 40 RMB

Opening Hours

8:00-17:00

Location

Southern part of Chengcun Town, 24 kilometers south of the Wuyishan Scenic Area, Wuyishan City, Nanping, Fujian

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China