Ancient Pass at Futan

Ancient Pass at Futan

The Ancient Pass at Futan is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The cultural relics department of Ji’an discovered an ancient pass stretching 600 meters on the northern ridge of Gufu Village in Futan Town, Qingyuan District. This section of the pass runs east to west, following the mountain terrain up to the summit. It is approximately 600 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 2 meters high, with a city gate in the middle that is 2.2 meters wide and 3.1 meters deep. Although it has withstood hundreds of years of wind, frost, rain, and snow, the walls remain relatively well-preserved.

Who exactly built these military facilities? Villagers say that Gufu Village also has another name: Chenjia Village, as all the villagers share the surname Chen. According to local lore, when the ancient general Chen Youliang stationed troops here, he not only constructed these defensive works but also had many villagers adopt the Chen surname.

Director Gao of the Ji’an Museum told reporters that based on the construction style and associated artifacts, this section of the pass existed as early as the Southern Song Dynasty. However, there are no written records indicating whether Chen Youliang stationed troops here during his battles with Zhu Yuanzhang, nor have any physical artifacts related to Chen Youliang been found on the pass or other ancient structures. Therefore, whether it was built by Chen Youliang still requires further verification before a conclusion can be drawn.

Futan Town: Located in the central part of Qingyuan, Futan is the first town south of Qingyuan, about 18 kilometers from downtown Ji’an and 16 kilometers from Ji’an Railway Station. With well-developed transportation and communication infrastructure, it is traversed by the Wenshui Highway and Qingdong Highway, falling within the half-hour economic circle and benefiting from strong urban influence and obvious locational advantages. The town covers a total area of 189.8 square kilometers, governs 14 village committees and 1 neighborhood committee, with a total population of 23,000 and cultivated land area of 35,070 mu. In 2003, the town’s GDP reached 156 million yuan, fiscal revenue was 2.62 million yuan, and the annual per capita net income of farmers was 1,343 yuan. …… More details about Futan Town++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units