Wan’an Guanlan Gate City Wall

Wan’an Guanlan Gate City Wall

The Wan’an Guanlan Gate City Wall is a cultural tourism attraction.

According to experts, in our province, the only well-preserved ancient city wall at the prefectural level is in Ganzhou. As for county-level ancient city walls, only Wan’an County has one that remains intact for over a kilometer and retains more than two gates.

The Wan’an Ancient City Wall, initially built during the Song Dynasty, stretches over 1,000 meters in total, featuring solid walls and simple, classic gates. Located by the Gan River, it is a provincial-level cultural heritage site. On September 6, reporters strolled along the Wan’an Ancient City Wall, experiencing its timeless grandeur and exploring its mysterious and profound history—

From earthen walls to brick walls took over 400 years

Geng Yanpeng, Vice Chairman of the Wan’an County CPPCC, Editor-in-Chief of the *Wan’an County Historical Materials*, and member of the Jiangxi Provincial Historical Society, told reporters that the long history of the Wan’an Ancient City Wall is rooted in the long history of Wan’an County itself. Historical records show that as early as the first year of the Baoda era of the Southern Tang Dynasty (943), Wan’an County—situated among the Eighteen Shoals in the middle reaches of the Gan River—was established as Wan’an Town due to its strategic location. “It lies at a critical junction; upstream it controls the passes to Guangdong and Guangxi, downstream it connects to rivers and lakes, presenting both water and land challenges while serving as a hub for transport.” In the fourth year of the Xining era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1071), Wan’an County was officially established.

Seven years later, in the first year of the Yuanfeng era (1078), Magistrate Zhu Junmin began constructing the city walls. By the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), under the governance of Magistrate Hu Tianmin, the earthen walls of Wan’an were finally completed. In the 25th year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1155), Magistrate Zhao Chengzhi expanded the ramparts and installed city gates. Then, in the 19th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty (1282),

Magistrate Peng Jiugao rebuilt the earthen walls, extending the perimeter of the Wan’an city walls to three li, with a height of one zhang and a width of eight chi, and establishing four city gates. Four years later, Commandant Qian Tangnu further heightened the walls by one-third and widened them by half. However, these were all still earthen walls. Being situated by the Gan River, they were vulnerable to annual floods, often leading to partial collapses which were then repaired.

It wasn’t until the sixth year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1511), when Sang Qiao, a native of Changshu, Jiangsu, took office as Magistrate of Wan’an, that change came. An ambitious official, he resolved the following year to rebuild the city walls using bricks and stones. Following the model of Nanjing’s city walls and those of Ji’an Prefecture, he assigned the task of firing bricks to villages throughout the region, unifying their dimensions and implementing a responsibility system to ensure strict quality control of the supplied materials. While coordinating the sourcing of bricks and stones, he also brought in skilled surveyors and designers, organized artisans to work day and night, and in a relatively short period of time, raised a brick-and-stone city wall by the Gan River.

The city wall reconstructed under Sang Qiao’s supervision had a circumference of 714 zhang, a height of 2 zhang 2 chi, and 950 crenellations. The wall, including the crenellations, was one zhang wide at the top and one zhang five chi wide at the base. It featured six city gates. Aside from the Waiyuan Gate to the north, the Weiyuan Gate to the east, and the Biaozhong Gate to the south, the city’s western side, facing the busy transport routes of the Gan River, had three gates: the Guanlan Gate, the Wuyun Gate, and the Furong Gate, reflecting the prosperity of ancient Wan’an. Thus, the transformation of Wan’an’s city walls from earthen to brick took over 400 years.

Floods and wars repeatedly damaged the walls

Geng Yanpeng explained that although the brick-and-stone walls rebuilt by Sang Qiao were solidly constructed with meticulous workmanship, their proximity to the Gan River made them constantly vulnerable to flooding. Moreover, the walls also suffered damage during several major wars. Historical records indicate that the Wan’an Ancient City Wall was repeatedly destroyed.

According to the *Wan’an County Annals* from the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, during the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a major collapse of the earthen walls. The cause was attributed to Commandant Qian Tangnu, who, ignoring the fact that Wan’an County was already situated by a major river with perennially high water levels, mechanically imitated practices from other regions by digging a deep moat two li long and one zhang deep outside the walls. As a result, when floods from the Gan River or mountain runoff from the southeast arrived, the moat would fill and inundate the base of the walls, causing “the ramparts and watchtowers to collapse.” Subsequently, the city walls collapsed multiple times due to flood erosion. Records show that there were four significant collapses during the Qing Dynasty alone.

On one hand, fierce floods caused the collapse of about 100 meters of walls from the Konghu Shoal to the Guanlan Gate; on the other, during the years when the Taiping Rebellion forces were active in the region, several intense battles took place inside and outside the city between the rebels and Qing troops, resulting in the bombardment and destruction of many sections of the walls. The reconstruction of the Wan’an City Wall in the fourth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty was the largest since Sang Qiao’s brick wall project.

During the Republican era, the catastrophic flood of the Yiyou year (1915) endangered the Wan’an City Wall, and the damaged sections were never repaired.

Bricks from the Ming and Qing Dynasties record a long history

Geng Yanpeng introduced that there are nearly ten types of brick inscriptions from the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the Wan’an City Wall. These inscriptions preserve historical information. The most original standard blue bricks were fired in the seventh year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty, measuring 35–39 cm in length and 18–20 cm in width. Due to the accountability system, each brick produced in different locations bore stamped inscriptions—usually the names of foremen and kiln owners—in intaglio, with the central inscription reading “Zhengde seven-year Wan’an Magistrate Sang Qiao,” though some simply bore the words “Ji’an Prefecture Wan’an County.” This shows variations in the stamp molds used by different kilns. Bricks from the Qing Dynasty were generally smaller than those from the Ming Dynasty. The bricks marked with “Xianfeng four-year” were likely fired in just one or two kilns, as identifiable from their inscriptions.

Geng Yanpeng said that during his multiple inspections of the Wan’an Ancient City Wall, he discovered simplified or variant characters resembling modern simplified Chinese on some Ming Zhengde-era brick inscriptions, such as the name “Liu Tonghai, Kiln Craftsman” found in several places. The original bricks were supposed to bear nearly 20 characters, but the traditional form of “Liu” has many strokes, making it difficult to carve and stamp. Therefore, the mold makers used a simplified version of the character. This shows that as early as 490 years ago, people were already using simplified characters.

The Furong Gate: Blocked and Then Reopened

To the north of the West Gate and by the Gan River lies another gate called the Furong Gate. Standing atop it, reporters could see the peaks of Furong Mountain across the river, resembling an elegant brush rest. Geng Yanpeng explained that the original construction of the Furong Gate was intended to promote a scholarly atmosphere. Wan’an produced many scholars and officials during the Ming Dynasty, including six notable ministers. However, in the third year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1664), for reasons unknown, Magistrate Hu Shu blocked the well-preserved Furong Gate during a wall maintenance project. This not only inconvenienced local access but also led residents to believe it obstructed Wan’an’s scholarly spirit.

Previously, standing at the Furong Gate gave one the feeling of a scholar's brush resting on a brush rest—an atmosphere of literary dignity. But when Magistrate Hu blocked the gate, people angrily questioned why he would oppose the town’s literati and sabotage their promising futures. In the ninth year of Kangxi (1670), Magistrate Hu reopened the gate by removing the bricks and earth, even composing poems to atone. He wrote nine poems in one go, including praise for the Eight Scenic Spots of Wan’an and a specific regulated verse dedicated to the reopening of the Furong Gate.

Large-Scale Reconstruction Restores the Wall’s Grandeur

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the officials and residents of Wan’an have consistently demonstrated a strong awareness and vocal support for protecting the Wan’an Ancient City Wall, and the local government has also placed great emphasis on it. In 1997, the county’s Party committee and government secured funding for the construction of a Gan River protective embankment. During the construction, not only was a high-quality protective dike built around the county town, but the riverside road was also widened, and the Guanlan Gate section of the ancient city wall was reconstructed.

In early 2006, the Wan’an County Party Committee and Government decided to allocate 2 million yuan for the maintenance of the ancient city wall. Xu Zunqing, Deputy Director of the County’s Culture and Broadcasting Bureau, explained that this large-scale restoration project followed the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” striving to revive the historical appearance and restore the original charm of the ancient walls. The county invited renowned experts from within and outside the province to guide the project and develop a restoration plan. The plan focused on preserving the original style, structural form, material texture, and craftsmanship. Comprehensive repairs were carried out on both the inner and outer walls, the crenellations, gate towers, and gate openings. The surrounding environment inside and outside the wall was thoroughly cleaned up, allowing the long-neglected ancient wall to shed its grime and once again showcase its majestic presence. The restoration project was fully completed in late September 2006.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the cadres and residents of Wan’an have consistently demonstrated a strong awareness and high level of advocacy for protecting the ancient city wall of Wan’an, and the local government has also attached great importance to it. In 1997, the county Party committee and government secured a fund earmarked for constructing a flood protection embankment along the Gan River. During the construction process, not only was a high-quality protective dike built for the county town, but the riverside road was also widened, and the Guanlan Gate of the ancient city wall was rebuilt.

In early 2006, the Wan’an County Party Committee and County Government decided to allocate 2 million yuan to renovate the ancient city wall. Xu Zunqing, deputy director of the county’s Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, explained that this large-scale renovation adhered to the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” striving to recover the historical appearance and revive the original look of the ancient city wall. The county invited well-known experts from within and outside the province to provide guidance and develop the restoration plan. The plan emphasized preserving the original style, structural form, material texture, and craftsmanship. It involved comprehensive repairs to both the inner and outer walls, restoration of the battlements, watchtowers, and gateways, and a thorough cleanup of the surroundings inside and outside the wall. This effort cleared away years of grime from the neglected ancient wall, allowing it to once again display its majestic presence to the world. The renovation project was fully completed in late September 2006.