Ruins of the Ancient City of Langling

Ruins of the Ancient City of Langling

The ruins of the ancient city of Langling are a cultural tourism attraction.

The ancient city of Langling is located in Rendian Town, about 20 kilometers south of Queshan County. It was a historically significant county-level city, and the ruins of the ancient city still remain. The city existed as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. It belonged to Yingchuan Commandery during the Qin Dynasty. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the county of Langling was established, later becoming the commandery of Langling, with Huang Meng serving as its prefect. In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu enfeoffed the general Zang Guan as the Marquis of Langling. After Zang Guan’s death, his son Zang Xin and three generations afterward continued to hold the title of “Marquis of Langling.” During the Three Kingdoms period, the Cao Wei regime enfeoffed He Zeng as the “Marquis of Langling.” When the Western Jin Dynasty was established, He Zeng was granted the title of “Duke of Langling” for his contributions in assisting Emperor Wu of Jin. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Huai River basin was a key contested area between the northern and southern regimes. Langling, situated on the north bank of the Huai River, controlled a strategic northern pass. At times it belonged to the southern regimes, at others to the northern ones. Its strategic location was exceptionally important. When the Liu Song Dynasty stabilized the Huang-Huai region, they established Sui City Commandery. Later, the Northern Wei Dynasty set up Anyang Commandery here. During the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the name Langling was changed to Anchang, and Chunan Commandery was established, with both the commandery seat and the county seat located in the ancient city of Langling. In the Sui Dynasty, the commandery and county were abolished, and the county seat was moved to what is now Queshan County, and the name was changed to Langshan.

According to the "Queshan County Annals · Topography" from the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931): “It is a secluded yet vital region at the center of heaven, controlling Jingzhou and Xiangyang in the distance, and bordering Nanyang and Luoyang nearby. To its northeast lies an expansive plain, bordering and interlocking with the territories of Ru and Sui… A naturally advantageous terrain.” From the Spring and Autumn and Qin-Han periods until the 18th year of the Kaihuang era in the Sui Dynasty—when the county seat was moved to its current location in Queshan County—the ancient city of Langling served as a county and commandery seat for over 1,700 years and held an important place in history.