The Ancient City of Qizhou

The Ancient City of Qizhou

The Ancient City of Qizhou is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The Ancient City of Qizhou, dating back to the Northern Dynasties period, currently has surviving city walls that stretch 458 meters from east to west and 419 meters from north to south, covering a total area of 191,902 square meters. The site is located 12.5 kilometers southwest of Huojia County’s county seat and 0.5 kilometers due north of Yangwa Village in Zhangju Township. In November 1986, it was designated as one of the second batch of cultural relic protection units of Henan Province.

Investigations over the years have shown that the existing sections of the city wall were all built using rammed earth techniques, with a large number of pottery shards unearthed within the rammed layers. The main types of artifacts include pottery jars, pottery basins, pottery vats, roof tiles, tubular tiles, and Han Dynasty wuzhu coins. The pottery is all made of clay, with colors ranging from gray to red. Key decorative patterns include coarse and fine rope patterns, combed patterns, string patterns, and plain surfaces. The production techniques mainly involved hand-building, wheel-throwing, and mold-casting.

This ancient city site is the only surviving urban settlement from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in northern Henan. With all four sections of its city walls relatively intact, it holds the potential to become a shining gem of the region if further scientific excavation and development are undertaken.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province