Ruins of the Chu Great Wall in Nanzhao

Ruins of the Chu Great Wall in Nanzhao

The ruins of the Chu Great Wall in Nanzhao are protected as a cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

Since 2000, ruins of the Great Wall have been discovered in 11 townships of Nanzhao County. After on-site investigations by relevant experts and scholars, these were identified as the ruins of China’s oldest Great Wall — the Chu Great Wall. In 2005, the Nanzhao County People's Government designated 19 of the more important ruins as county-level cultural heritage protection units.

The Zhoujiazhai site is representative of the Chu Great Wall, located in Huashan Village, Banshanping Town, northwest of the county seat, covering an area of nearly 40 square kilometers. Its core area consists of three peaks: Zhoujiazhai, Lujiazhai, and Wangjiazhai. The ruins are relatively well preserved and provide important physical evidence for the study of the Chu Great Wall.

The stone walls of Zhoujiazhai include three main parts: the outer wall, the inner wall (commonly known as the second ring), and the walls of four barbican fortresses, totaling over 30 kilometers in length. The outer wall is the main structure of this stone fortress, encircling six surrounding peaks like a giant serpent, winding continuously and quite spectacular. The wall is generally 3 meters wide at the base, 4 meters high, and 2.2 meters wide at the top.

The renowned contemporary scholar Luo Zhewen, in his book "The Great Wall," defined the western section of the Chu Great Wall as extending through the southwestern, western, northwestern, and northern parts of Nanzhao County, with Zhoujiazhai lying directly on this distribution line. Great Wall experts state that the Chu Great Wall initially developed from fortified passes, making Zhoujiazhai one of the larger passes along the Chu Great Wall — a small defensive settlement used by the Chu State to guard against military threats, as well as a garrison and lookout post. Zhoujiazhai features both an outer wall and an inner wall, along with mutually reinforcing barbicans and beacon towers. From this, one can see that it was an ideally situated, structurally complete, logically laid out, and fully equipped pass of the Chu Great Wall. Its plain, rough, solid, and primitive appearance provides a rare historical specimen for the study of the Chu Great Wall.

The ruins of the Chu Great Wall in Nanzhao are only a part of the entire Chu Great Wall. However, compared to other counties where it is distributed, Nanzhao has the longest stretch (the majority of the northern line lies within Nanzhao), the most passes, and the best-preserved ruins, making it the most typical historical specimen of the Chu Great Wall. These have been confirmed through investigations by authoritative experts and the leading Great Wall research institution — the China Great Wall Society. Many major passes (such as Zhoujiazhai and Jingziduo Fort) hold significant historical, research, and sightseeing value. The ruins of the Chu Great Wall are the largest above-ground relics in our county, even in the Central Plains and Jianghan regions. They stand as monuments of history, symbols of civilization, and treasures of culture, serving as Nanzhao County’s greatest brand for increasing its domestic and international visibility. Therefore, promoting, protecting, and appropriately developing and utilizing the Chu Great Wall will have immeasurable effects on advancing Nanzhao’s economic and social development.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units