Ruins of Liuzhou City and the Watermelon Introduction Stele

Ruins of Liuzhou City and the Watermelon Introduction Stele

The Ruins of Liuzhou City and the Watermelon Introduction Stele are protected cultural heritage sites of Hubei Province.

Ruins of Liuzhou City and the Watermelon Introduction Stele

Liuzhou City, also known as the old Shizhou City, is located in Liuzhoucheng Village, Qiliping Township, Enshi City. It is a city site from the Southern Song Dynasty. In the first year of the Kaixing era (1259), Magistrate Xie Changyuan relocated the state capital here to resist the Mongolian army, but it was moved out again in the second year of the Xianchun era (1266). The city was built against Chair Mountain, with a semi-circular layout, covering an area of about 5,000 square meters. The northeast side is a cliff for natural defense, while the northwest features stone walls, with remnants about 300 meters long, 1–2 meters high, and around 1 meter thick. There are gates on the west, north, and south sides. Within the city, remnants such as the General Platform, Drill Ground, Drum Beating Platform, and the foundation of the Lingguang Hall can still be found. The Watermelon Introduction Stele was carved in the Gengwu year of the Xianchun era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1270) on a 4-meter-high, 3.5-meter-wide sandstone cliff on the western outskirts of Liuzhou City. The stele surface is 1.49 meters high and 1.1 meters wide, positioned 1.85 meters above the ground. It features 10 lines of 169 seal characters, each about 0.07 meters square, documenting the introduction and spread of watermelons in the mountainous regions of western Hubei in the sixth year of Xianchun. The inscription is signed “Respectfully recorded by Qin Boyu of Qushan in the early spring of the Gengwu year of Xianchun.” (Third Batch)

Source: Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Hubei Province