Ancient Chengshanwei City

Ancient Chengshanwei City

Ancient Chengshanwei City is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shandong Province.

Ancient Chengshanwei City is located in Chengshan Town, Rongcheng City, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

According to the "Daoguang Annals," "In the 31st year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, a stone city was built, encircling an area of six li and 168 steps, standing 1.8 zhang high and 2 zhang thick, with four gates: the eastern gate named 'Yongtai,' the western gate 'Tianshun,' the southern gate 'Wenxing,' and the northern gate 'Wuning.'" The ancient city has undergone four rounds of renovation. In 1942, the city walls were demolished, leaving only the eastern and northern gates. During the Cultural Revolution, the eastern gate was also torn down, leaving only the northern gate intact. Parts of the city walls can still be traced on the western and northern sides; the eastern wall site has been built over with residences, the southern wall site has been leveled into a main street, and its southwestern corner now serves as an intersection. A section of the wall extending north from the western gate remains relatively well-preserved, with rammed earth walls 14 meters wide and 2 meters high. The northern wall, west of the northern gate, stands only 1 meter high but gradually rises toward the west, reaching a maximum height of 5 meters at the northwest corner. The section of the northern wall extending eastward has also been leveled, though the wall base remains visible. The northern gate passage features a stone foundation with brick arching, standing 3.8 meters high, 4 meters wide, and 13.3 meters deep, and is currently in a state of seepage and structural instability. The original stone plaque above the gate inscribed with "Wuning" has been lost. However, the original western gate plaque was unearthed during a road widening project in the winter of 1988. Carved from Mashan stone, it is inscribed with the characters "Tianshun" and the inscription "Carved and repaired in the 60th year of Qianlong, early summer, by Magistrate Li Linchun."

On June 23, 2015, Ancient Chengshanwei City was designated as part of the fifth group of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units by the People's Government of Shandong Province.

Chengshan Town: Located at the easternmost tip of the Shandong Peninsula, Chengshan Town is surrounded by sea on three sides, with a coastline stretching 100 kilometers. It faces South Korea and Japan across the sea, making it the closest point in China to South Korea. Covering a total area of 100 square kilometers, the town governs 54 administrative villages and 10 neighborhood committees, with a population of 50,000. It is home to the national 4A-level scenic spot—Chengshantou, the Swan Lake Provincial Tourist Resort—the largest winter habitat for whooper swans in China, and Longyan Port, a national first-class open port.

Chengshan Town is a Historic Town: With a long history, Chengshan Town... Chengshan Town detailed information++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units