Ancient Yu County

Ancient Yu County

Ancient Yu County is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yu County has a long history. Paleolithic sites dating back a million years and numerous Neolithic sites have been discovered in the Hulu River Valley. During the times of Yao and Shun, it belonged to Jizhou; in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was the state of Dai. During the Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Western Jin periods, it was known as Dai Commandery. In the second year of the Daye era of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (580 AD), it was renamed “Yu Prefecture,” a name that has been used throughout the dynasties up to the present — a history of over 1,420 years.

According to archaeological evidence, humans had already settled in the area around Yu County by at least the Eastern Zhou period. Extrapolating from this, the city’s founding history can be traced back over 2,700 years. Millennia of civilizational development have endowed the ancient city with profound cultural heritage, and the preserved relics within the city attest to the prosperity of Yu County during the Northern Wei, Liao, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Especially from the Yuan through the early Qing periods, as the Flying Fox Ancient Road of Yu County served as a vital transportation route connecting the North China Plain in the south to the vast deserts in the north, the population grew, trade flourished, commerce thrived, and culture and education reached unprecedented heights. In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, the city walls were built on the original site, and in the tenth year, they were reinforced with bricks and stones, forming an “iron-walled fortress mightier than any other border stronghold.”

Ancient Yu County is located on the platform area south of the Hulu River. According to the Yu County Annals, the ancient city had a perimeter of seven li and thirteen steps, with walls three zhang and five chi high, three gate towers, four corner towers, twenty-four three-tiered watchtowers, and over 1,100 battlements. The east gate was called Anding Gate, with the tower named Jingyang Tower; the south gate was Jingxian Gate, with the tower named Wanshan Tower; the west gate was Qingyuan Gate, with the tower named Guangyun Tower. Each of the three gates was equipped with a grand and imposing barbican. These were connected to the inner city via drawbridges over the moat, which was over three zhang deep and seven zhang wide. The city had an irregular shape, wider in the south and narrower in the north, with winding and uneven eastern and western sides. Only three gates — east, south, and west — were built within the city, with no northern gate; instead, the Jade Emperor Pavilion was constructed on the northern wall. The city layout centered around four main streets — east, west, south, and north — forming a symmetrical architectural pattern with the Wenchang Pavilion (Drum Tower) and the South Gate (Wanshan Tower) mirrored across the central axis of the North-South Street.

Currently, the southern and eastern sections of the ancient city walls of Yu County have been completely demolished. The best-preserved sections are the northern wall and the northern part of the western wall, stretching approximately 1,600 meters. The eastern and western city gates have been destroyed, with only the southern gate remaining. The Wanshan Tower and the Wenchang Pavilion inside the city were restored and rebuilt in 1997. The moat largely exists on the eastern, western, and southern sides, and the stone bridges outside the three gates are still preserved.

Due to historical reasons, Ancient Yu County has suffered some damage, but its overall appearance remains largely intact. Moreover, the county still houses numerous government offices, temples, pavilions, and residential buildings, retaining the legacy of its Ming and Qing-era heritage.

Historically, Yu County was dominated by Han Chinese culture, yet its urban layout defied the traditional Han Chinese “ritual system” that strictly emphasized orderliness, grid-like precision, and axial symmetry. This distinctive approach to city planning is the most remarkable feature of Ancient Yu County.