The Ancient City Wall of Chaling

The Ancient City Wall of Chaling

The Ancient City Wall of Chaling is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

The Ancient City Wall of Chaling

Dating from the Song to the Qing Dynasty, it is located in Chengguan Town, Chaling County, Hunan Province. This wall integrates the architectural techniques and styles of the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

The wall was first built in the fourth year of the Shaoding era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1231), with a perimeter of 2,522 meters, a base width of 4.33 meters, a height of 8.33 meters, and five city gates. In the 22nd year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1389), it underwent major repairs, during which the perimeter was extended to 3,353 meters and four new moon walls were added. Further maintenance was carried out in the 19th year of the Qianlong era (1784), the 6th year of the Daoguang era (1826), and the 2nd year of the Xianfeng era (1852) of the Qing Dynasty. Currently, four sections of the ancient wall totaling 1,536 meters remain, along with two city gates (including moon walls)—the Ziwēi Gate and the Yíngxūn Gate—a horse path, over 700 meters of riverside fortification embankments, and one iron rhinoceros from the Song Dynasty used to stabilize the embankment. These above-ground remnants are largely well-preserved, and other sections of the city wall foundations still exist. The outer layer of the wall consists of red cliff strip stones laid in mortar, with an inner core of soil and crushed stone. The city gates are constructed from specially shaped blue bricks in an arched design, while the moon walls are typically built outside the main gates.

On May 19, 2002, the People’s Government of Hunan Province designated it as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit, with the reference number 50-9.

Source: Overview of Cultural Relics in Hunan

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites