Zhengding City Wall

Zhengding City Wall

Zhengding City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The city of Zhengding was first built during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, originally constructed with stone. In the first year of the Baoying era of the Tang Dynasty (762 AD), due to flooding from the Hutuo River that inundated the city, the walls deteriorated over time and were subsequently expanded. In the 14th year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1449 AD), the city was enlarged to a perimeter of twenty-four li, with walls three zhang and two chi high, and two zhang wide at the top. In the fifth year of the Longqing era (1571 AD), Gu Shou, the magistrate of Zhending County, began converting the earthen wall into a brick one. His successor, Zhou Yingzhong, petitioned for over 60,000 taels of silver from the government treasury, conscripted laborers from various counties under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture, and divided the construction work into sections. The project was completed in the fourth year of the Wanli era (1576 AD). The four city gates were named: the eastern gate as Yingxu (Welcoming the Sun), the southern gate as Changle (Longevity), the western gate as Zhenyuan (Guarding the Distant), and the northern gate as Yong’an (Eternal Peace), each accompanied by a moon city and a barbican. Later renovations or reconstructions were all carried out on this foundation. The wall played an important role in flood prevention and military defense. Due to historical reasons and recent urban development, most of the Zhengding city wall, except for the existing gates, has been reduced to earthen structures. The eastern gate has been buried under national defense facilities, the southern gate retains its inner city gate and barbican gate, the western gate preserves its inner city gate, barbican gate, and the northern gate retains its inner city gate along with the moon city gate.

Zhengding City Wall was designated as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the People’s Government of Hebei Province on July 15, 1993.

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

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units in Hebei Province

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units