Ancient City Wall of Fengchuan

Ancient City Wall of Fengchuan

The ancient city wall of Fengchuan is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The ancient city of Fengchuan is located to the south of Beishan Mountain in Jiangkou Town. Its exact founding date is unknown. The current site was built on the old foundation by Chen Shun, the local magistrate, during the rebellion of Huang Xiaoyang in the 14th year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1450). Since then, the city has served as the county seat and has undergone renovations and reconstructions over twenty times. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the governments of both Fengchuan and Kaijian counties once shared offices here.

In the winter of 1958, after Fengchuan and Deqing counties were merged, local residents built dikes and roads, leading to repeated damage to the city site. Today, only the southern gate and sections of the eastern and western walls (approximately 400 meters) remain. The southern gate is arched and constructed from reddish-brown sandstone blocks. The stones measure 60–80 cm in length, 20–30 cm in width, and 14–18 cm in thickness. The arch is 3.05–3.7 meters wide, 3.2–3.76 meters high, and 12.4 meters deep. Originally, a stone plaque inscribed with “Ancient Fengzhou” was embedded above the gate (now lost). According to the *Fengchuan County Annals*, the ancient city backed onto Beishan Mountain, with its eastern, southern, and southwestern sides adjacent to the Dongshan River and the Xijiang River. To the north, there was a moat (over 20 meters deep and about 10 meters wide), together with the moats on the east, west, and south forming a “square-shaped” fortress. The city wall was rectangular, with the eastern and western walls each about 418 meters long and the northern wall about 168 meters long.

The city wall was built with blue bricks, 4–5 meters thick and approximately 8–9 meters high. The bricks were specially made, measuring 34 cm in length, 16.5 cm in width, and 6 cm in thickness, with the raised characters “Fengchuan City Brick” impressed on the side. The fortress originally had three gates: northeast, west, and south. The walls were equipped with over two hundred structures including gate towers, connecting corridors, corner towers, watchtowers, battlement windows, connecting rooms, and guard posts. In addition, the city housed various administrative and cultural buildings such as the county office, education office, instructor office, magistrate office, city defense office, Wu Temple, City God Temple, Wan Shou Palace, Changping Granary, and prison.

On November 8, 2008, the General Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province issued the *Notice on the Announcement of the Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units*, listing the ancient city wall of Fengchuan County as a Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Fengchuan Village: Covering a total area of 17.627 square kilometers, Fengchuan Village administers 32 villager groups; it has 1,070 mu of forested land and 2,136 mu of cultivated land, including 1,340 mu of paddy fields. The village has a total population of 4,167, including 5 members of the village’s two committees and 48 Party members, making it the most populous village in the town. In 2008, the total agricultural income was 30.976 million yuan, the village collective economic net income was 35,000 yuan, and the per capita rural economic income was 5,191.8 yuan. The living standards of the residents are relatively high. The village’s two committees are committed to improving the living standards of the people and actively guiding them to consolidate... More details about Fengchuan Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units