Ximalin City Wall

Ximalin City Wall

The Ximalin City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Ximalin City Wall is part of Ximalin Fort. According to historical records, Ximalin Fort was one of the five military forts governed by Wanquan Right Guard City (a sixth batch National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit). The fort was constructed in the tenth year of the Ming Xuande era (1435), reinforced with a brick casing in the fifth year of the Longqing era (1571), and underwent further repairs in the sixth year of the Qing Qianlong era (1741). The "Illustrated Accounts of the Three Towns of Xuanda and Shanxi" recorded: “The fort is four li and six zhang in circumference, with walls thirty-five chi high, a base width of forty-five chi, and a top width of seventeen chi,” featuring 16 bastions distributed on all four sides. The "Xuanfu Town Annals" noted the presence of “two watchtowers, six battlement platforms, two gates — the southern gate named Cheng’en and the western gate named Guanlan.” Over various historical periods and through wind and rain erosion, the overall layout of Ximalin Fort’s city wall remains identifiable, with the northwestern section of the wall relatively well-preserved, featuring a base width of 6–7 meters, a top width of 1.5–2 meters, and a height of 8 meters. In recent years, under the correct leadership and strong support of the county Party committee and government, the county’s cultural relics authorities have promptly formulated protection and management measures and implemented various protective steps, enabling effective preservation of the Ximalin Wall. Moving forward, the guiding principles of “protection first, rescue foremost, rational utilization, and strengthened management” in cultural relics work will be further implemented. Qualified design institutes will be commissioned to develop an overall protection plan and specific maintenance and repair schemes. Emphasis will be placed on both effective protection and solid foundations as well as rational utilization and efficiency, achieving heritage inheritance and development through protection and use. Diligent efforts will be made to ensure the protection, management, and rational use of this national-level protected site — the Ximalin City Wall. Leveraging the momentum of this national protection status, our county adheres to the principle of combining tourism development with conservation activities. Through scientific planning, we are further defining the tasks and strategies for tourism development, actively promoting the construction of rural tourism across the county and laying a solid foundation, thereby fostering a healthy and sustainable development of historical and cultural tourism in our county.

In May 2013, the Ximalin City Wall was designated as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Ximalin Village: Located in the southeastern part of Ximalin Town, approximately 31 kilometers from Wanquan District, Ximalin Village serves as the seat of the Ximalin Town government. The village covers an area of 1.34 million square meters, with 5,381 mu of arable land, including 4,516 mu of irrigated land and 8,933.1 mu of forestland, among which 2,527 mu are returned farmland. The village has a total of 1,678 agricultural households, a population of 4,127, 3 members on the Party branch committee, 3 members on the village committee, 46 village representatives, and 156 Party members. …… More details about Ximalin Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units