The Qi Great Wall Ruins in Yishui

The Qi Great Wall Ruins in Yishui

The Qi Great Wall Ruins in Yishui is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Qi Great Wall Ruins in Yishui — Located in central Shandong. To defend against invasions from states such as Jin, Lu, Ju, Wu, Yue, and Chu, the State of Qi constructed a military defensive project spanning over 1,200 li from west to east over a period of more than 300 years, from the mid-Spring and Autumn Period to the mid-Warring States Period under the reigns of Duke Wei and Duke Xuan of Qi. This is the famous Qi Great Wall. The Qi Great Wall starts from the banks of the Yellow River in Changqing in the west, follows the watershed of the Taiyi Mountain Range, winds eastward through Feicheng, Tai’an, Licheng, Laiwu, Zhangqiu, Boshan, Yiyuan, Linqu, Yishui, Anqiu, Juxian, Wulian, Zhucheng, and Jiaonan, and finally enters the Yellow Sea at Huangdao. The Qi Great Wall predates the Great Walls of the Wei, Zhao, Chu, and Qin states by over 200 years, and the earliest European fortifications such as the Long Walls of Athens by over 100 years. It is the oldest, largest in scale, and best-preserved ancient architectural site in China, hailed by historians as the “Father of the Chinese Great Wall” and the “Ancestor of World Fortifications.” Entering from Taiboding in the southern part of Mount Yi and moving southeast, it passes by Dianjiangtai, Daxianshan, Muling Pass, Longshan, Fengmingshan, Niushan, Yangtingshan, and Sanlengshan, where it meets a second section of the Great Wall that enters Yishui from Linqu and Anqiu before continuing into Juxian. It traverses five townships — Shagou, Mazhan, Quanli, Yangzhuang, and Guanzhuang — with a total length of over 140 li. About 85.6% of the wall still has visible ruins, including 12 sites of ancient fortresses, beacon towers, and military command platforms.