Ancient City Wall of Nan'ao

Ancient City Wall of Nan'ao

The Ancient City Wall of Nan’ao is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

Nan’ao Island is the only island county in Guangdong Province. Located at the junction of Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan over the sea, it holds a strategically advantageous position. Since ancient times, Nan’ao has served as a vital port of call and transit hub for maritime trade along China’s southeast coast. The ruins of the ancient city wall of Nan’ao are situated at the office of Jinshan Village Committee, Shen’ao Town, Nan’ao County. According to the "Annals of Nan’ao," the Nan’ao City Wall was completed in the fourth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1576). It was “facing south and north, two zhang and two chi high, five chi thick, five hundred zhang in circumference, seven chi wide on the face, all built with stone, with a moat eight chi deep.” In December 2015, the ruins of the Nan’ao City Wall were designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

The "Annals of Nan’ao," compiled by Qi Chong in the Qing Dynasty, recorded that in the third year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1575), Liu Yao, the Fujian governor, submitted a memorial stating: “I humbly believe that between Zhangzhou and Chaozhou, the sea serves as a boundary. The area of Nan’ao to the south of the ocean is rugged yet fertile, abundant in grains and goods. However, the land does not belong to either jurisdiction, and affairs involve both neighboring regions, thus often becoming a haven for pirates. Building ships, crafting weapons, purchasing medicine, and storing grain can be done without restraint... To ensure long-term peace for both provinces, Nan’ao must be governed first; to govern Nan’ao, unified authority must be established first... Merchants and civilians engage mostly in rare goods trade. All Fujian ships entering Guangdong and Guangdong ships entering Fujian must pass through Nan’ao. Even if the commander-in-chief is ordered to inspect them, a civil official should also be assigned to oversee taxation, in order to fund the garrison expenses.” In the same year, the “Min–Yue Nan’ao Command” was established, along with the “Deputy Commander stationed exclusively in Nan’ao, overseeing Zhangzhou, Chaozhou, and surrounding areas,” who “answered to the commanders of both provinces and also controlled troops from both.” The establishment of Nan’ao was initially due to its unique significance in coastal defense and trade along the southeast coast.

In the fourth year of the Wanli reign (1576), construction of Nan’ao City began “on the northern side of Jinshan in Shen’ao.” Over subsequent dynasties, it underwent multiple renovations. On the third day of the first lunar month in 1918, a magnitude 7.25 earthquake struck Shen’ao, damaging the watchtower, barracks, and battlements of Nan’ao City. In 1959, the city wall was entirely demolished to make way for the construction of the Youth Salt Farm in Nan’ao Special District. Today, remnants of the Nan’ao City Wall stretch approximately 40 meters in length and 4 meters in width. The inner and outer sides of the wall consist of strip stones laid in a one-stone-vertical-to-one-stone-horizontal dry-stack pattern, with soil filling the middle. The wall retains the stonework style typical of the Ming Dynasty. A teachers’ dormitory stands inside the wall, while the surrounding area outside the wall is farmland. Shenzhen’ao Middle School lies about 400 meters from the wall. Due to years of neglect, the earthen fill within the wall has severely eroded, and weeds have overgrown the structure.

From the establishment of the Deputy Commander of Nan’ao in the third year of the Wanli reign (1575)—the “Deputy Commander stationed in Nan’ao, overseeing Zhangzhou, Chaozhou, and surrounding areas”—with divisions into Guangdong and Fujian camps, leading to the construction of Nan’ao City, until 1927 when the county seat of Nan’ao was moved to Long’ao (present-day Houzhai Town), Nan’ao City remained the political and military center of Nan’ao. The protection and archaeological study of the Nan’ao City Wall ruins hold significant value for researching the development of Nan’ao in economics, culture, transportation, military affairs, and architecture during the Ming Dynasty. They also serve as a historical testament to Nan’ao’s unique role in coastal defense and trade along the southeast coast since ancient times.

On December 10, 2015, the Ancient City Wall of Nan’ao was designated as part of the eighth batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units