Ruins of Chengyin City

Ruins of Chengyin City

The ruins of Chengyin City are a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shandong Province.

The ruins of Chengyin City are located in Chenghouliujiazhuangnan Village, Jinggou Town, our city. The discovery of this ancient city site provides reliable evidence for studying the urban layout, economy, and cultural development of the Han Dynasty, and holds significant preservation value.

Chengyin City is located in the northwest of Jinggou Town, Gaomi City. It is a square-shaped city, with both the southwest-northeast and southeast-northwest lengths being 2 kilometers, and a total perimeter of 8 kilometers. Initially built during the Warring States period, it was established as a major city on the Shandong Peninsula from its founding. To the west of the city lies the renowned Wei River, while to the east stretches an endless expanse of fertile plains. Roads around the city connect in all directions. During the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, Chengyin City served several times as the capital of kingdoms and marquisates. In the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties periods, it functioned as the seat of commanderies and counties, until it was destroyed by warfare in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Judging from the artifacts excavated from beneath the ruined city, it was indeed a very prosperous and affluent city at the time. Before the Sui Dynasty, all major historical events related to the politics, economy, and military of Gaomi were connected with Chengyin City. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the seat of Gaomi County was moved from Chengyin City to Guxian in present-day Baicheng Town. This indicates that Chengyin City truly suffered devastating destruction in the early Sui period, to the extent that renovating the old city was deemed less viable than rebuilding a new one. The glory of the 800-year-old city was thus almost entirely lost, leaving only broken walls, dilapidated houses, which gradually disappeared over time. According to local residents, a section of the oldest city wall still remained on the northern side before 1950. In the autumn of 2001, the Gaomi Municipal Government allocated funds to build walls, inscriptions, stone carvings, pave roads, and carry out greening efforts here, enabling better preservation of Chengyin City.

In 2013, the ruins of Chengyin City were announced by the People's Government of Shandong Province as part of the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units in Shandong Province.

Jinggou Town: "Jinggou Town is located at the westernmost end of Gaomi City, at the border between Gaomi City and Zhucheng City. It covers an area of 100 square kilometers, governs 62 administrative villages, has 13,700 households, a population of 46,000, and arable land area of 93,500 mu. In 2005, the town achieved a local fiscal revenue of 4.38 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 48%; industrial sales revenue reached 1.56 billion yuan, with profits and taxes of 180 million yuan, increases of 22% and 20% respectively; the tertiary industry added a value of 50 million yuan; and the per capita net income of farmers was 4,884 yuan.

Wooden board production is... More details about Jinggou Town++

Further reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units