Chongwu City Wall

Chongwu City Wall

Chongwu City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chongwu City Wall is located on a coastal cape 70 li south of Hui’an County, Fujian Province.

Chongwu City is backed by the mainland, with the other three sides facing the sea, and was historically also known as “Xiaodou Fort.” In the second year of the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1079), a military institution known as the “Xiaodou Patrol Office” was established here. In the early Ming Dynasty, the “Chongwu Garrison Command” was set up here, and the name “Chongwu” began to be used. In the 20th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1387), Zhou Dexing, the Marquis of Jiangxia, was ordered to oversee maritime defenses and initiated the construction of the city wall. Chongwu City is one of the best-preserved ancient coastal stone cities in China to this day.

The Chongwu City Wall was built with granite stones, with a perimeter of 2,456.7 meters. The wall base is 5 meters wide and 7 meters high. All four sides have gates, each topped with a gate tower. There are crescent-shaped walls on the eastern, northern, and western sides, and each of the eastern, southern, and northern walls has a beacon tower. In the 15th year of the Yongle era (1417), the wall height was increased by more than 1 meter.

For over a hundred years after the construction of Chongwu City, Japanese pirates were unable to invade, and maritime defenses remained secure. In the 39th year of the Jiajing era (1560), pirates launched a surprise attack, and the city was briefly occupied for 42 days. In April of the first year of the Longqing era (1567), the famous anti-pirate general Qi Jiguang supervised military training here. In April of the 8th year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1651), Zheng Chenggong once used the city’s defensible position to resist Qing forces. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units