Ancient City Wall of Guidefu

Ancient City Wall of Guidefu

The Ancient City Wall of Guidefu is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Guide Ancient City — A National Historical and Cultural City.

In ancient China, most cities were fortified with walls; without them, a settlement couldn’t truly be called a city. Places where our ancestors invested great effort in building walls must have held significant geographical importance. The land of Suiyang, from the Shang Dynasty to the present-day Suiyang Ancient City, has journeyed through the muddy waters of Chinese history. For thousands of years, countless ancient city walls have been built, yet even the walls of so-called seven-dynasty or nine-dynasty capitals have been completely erased by the relentless hands of time. Yet, the Ancient City Wall of Guidefu in Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, has miraculously endured over 490 years. Today, its outer city, inner city, and moat remain largely intact, exuding a solemn and majestic aura.

The existing city wall was built in the sixth year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1511), designed as a fortress-like structure with an outer round and inner square layout, resembling an ancient Chinese coin. The brick wall stretches 3.6 kilometers in circumference, with arched gateways. The east gate is named Binyang, the west gate Dize, the south gate Gongyang, and the north gate Gongchen.

The terrain inside the city resembles a turtle’s back, with 93 streets arranged in a chessboard-like pattern when viewed from above. Most buildings feature horse-head gates and traditional siheyuan (courtyard) complexes with five aligned gates. Based on the theory of the Five Elements (Wu Xing), to prevent the clash between metal and wood, the east and west gates are slightly offset. The east gate leans southward, the west gate northward, creating a one-street separation and resulting in two corner intersections that intersect with the north-south axis. From the Ming Jiajing era to the early Qing Dynasty, the city produced two grand secretaries (equivalent to prime ministers), five ministers, and over a dozen officials including vice ministers, provincial governors, censors, military commanders, and renowned scholars. The wide moat, with its rippling blue waters, encircles the entire city. The southern section of the moat is particularly broad, measuring over 500 meters from north to south and more than 1,300 meters from east to west. Beneath the waters lie the ancient Suiyang cities of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Southern Capital of the Song Dynasty, and the former site of Guidefu from the Yuan Dynasty. Thanks to the well-preserved walls and gates, Guide Ancient City has become one of the rare ancient cities that remain largely intact nationwide.

The city owes its preservation entirely to the ancient city wall, which has shielded it from disasters and weathered the storms. In August of the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), floods submerged the four gates, yet the water did not enter the city — all thanks to the city wall. The following summer, days of torrential rain caused raging floodwaters outside the city, turning the surroundings into a vast expanse of water. People sat atop the walls, watching the water level rise, rise, until it nearly reached their ankles. The fear was palpable. Had the wall collapsed, the consequences would have been unimaginable. People were helpless. Elderly women could only kneel before Buddha statues, praying for protection. In the end, the city wall withstood the test and kept the floodwaters at bay. Later, it was calculated that the floodwaters outside the wall had risen to the height of the third floor of the city’s buildings.

It is said that the primary reason Suiyang Ancient City was designated a National Historical and Cultural City was because the inspection team’s experts were struck by the towering presence of the ancient city wall. They marveled, “It’s truly remarkable that the city wall has remained so well-preserved!” And so, without hesitation, they classified the city wall as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units