Remnants of the Old Stockade Fort

Remnants of the Old Stockade Fort

In history, Zhanglin was known as Zhanglin Village, Zhanglin Town, Zhanglin Port, and Zhanglin Market, and was also called Zhanglin Stockade and Zhanglin Stockade Fort. The Zhanglin Stockade was built in the 35th year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty, with a perimeter of 805 zhang (approximately 2,683 meters), surrounded by banyan trees. However, it was soon destroyed by bandits. In the 8th year of the Kangxi reign, after the restoration of Chenghai County, the acting magistrate Yan Ying reconstructed a stone fort on the original site of the “Zhanglin Stockade,” which was then referred to as the “Zhanglin Stockade Fort.”

The Zhanglin Stone Fort had only three gates—east, west, and south—and no gate on the north side. To the southwest of the stone fort, there was a “Lower Water Gate.” Due to years of neglect, the Zhanglin Stone Fort was demolished in the 14th year of the Republic of China (1925), and the walls no longer exist. Later, the Optimistic Theater and the Cuiying School were built inside the former fort area, and these have now been replaced by Zhanglin Middle School.

Today, in the Chuitingli area to the east of Zhanglin, there used to be several old banyan trees piled at the top. Heading south from there, you can reach the “Three Clumps of Trees,” where three ancient banyans grow embracing each other. Further south are the Nanshe Pond, the front of Nanshe Temple, the front of the study hall, and along the path to the Nanshe Harbor bank, where ancient banyans can also be found. Traveling from the east to the north, toward Hemei and Xianlong, there are also several ancient banyan trees. The current circular distribution of these ancient banyans happens to mark the outer perimeter of the former Zhanglin Stockade, covering an area of nearly one square kilometer. This is the original site of the Zhanglin Stockade.