Ancient City Wall of Chaozhou

Ancient City Wall of Chaozhou

Chaozhou had a city wall before the Song Dynasty, which was later converted into a prefectural city wall after the Ming Dynasty. The original wall was built with rammed earth, and later reconstructed using stone and bricks. There are no accurate records of when the Chaozhou city wall was first built. Among the earliest surviving specialized documents on the wall’s construction is the “Record of Zheng Shen Building the City Wall” from the fifth year of the Huangyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1053), which indicates that an earthen wall had been built prior to that. The ancient city of Chaozhou was continuously repaired and improved through successive dynasties. During the Song Dynasty, the city had an inner and outer wall system—the inner city leaned against Mount Jin, and the administrative offices were located within it; the outer wall had 11 gates. In the Ming Dynasty, the layout of the prefectural city changed—the 11 gates were reduced to 7, and the wall underwent subsequent repairs and damage. In modern and contemporary times, with economic development and the expansion of transportation, the original city wall limits were broken. The southwestern base of the wall was turned into a road, the moat was filled in and replaced with high-rise buildings, and the urban area continued to expand southwestward.

The ancient city wall of Chaozhou took shape during the Song Dynasty. In the early Jihe era, an earthen wall was rebuilt, and during the Shaoxing era, stone was used. Subsequent large-scale expansions and repairs were carried out during the Shaoding and Duanping eras, forming a complete layout with an outer wall, inner city, and surrounding moat. Due to dynastic changes and war damage, the wall had fallen into disrepair by the late Yuan and early Ming periods. In the ninth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1379), the prefectural city wall was comprehensively renovated. Historical records indicate that the ancient city wall of Chaozhou underwent more than ten major repairs and renovations over time, offering a glimpse into the splendid historical and cultural heritage of Chaozhou.

After renovation, the prefectural city wall stood 2.5 zhang high, with a base 2.2 zhang wide and a top surface 1.5 zhang wide, encircling a total length of 1,763 zhang. Seven gates were opened around the wall: Shangshui, Zhumu, Guangji, Xiashui, Anding, Nan, and Bei. Crescent-shaped barbicans were built outside the gates as additional defenses, along with 44 watchtowers, 67 guard shelters, and 2,932 crenellations, making for an imposing and majestic structure. Over time, the southern, western, and northern sections of the city wall were demolished due to urban development, leaving only the eastern section along the Han River. This remaining section stretches 2,132 meters from Mount Jin in the north to the South Gate in the south, preserving four gates—Shangshui, Zhumu, Guangji, and Xiashui—along with their gate towers.

Address: Xiangqiao District, Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province

Type: Historical Site

Recommended Visiting Time: About 1 hour

Ticket Information: Free admission

Guangji Gate Tower

Guangji Gate Tower

Guangji Gate Tower

Zhumu Gate Tower

Zhumu Gate Tower

Xiashui Gate Tower

Xiashui Gate Tower

Shangshui Gate Tower

Shangshui Gate Tower

Xiangqiao Subdistrict: Located in the central area of the ancient city of Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, Xiangqiao Subdistrict is named after the nearby Xiangzi Bridge. Its office is situated at No. 26 Liuyaxiang, Taiping Road. The subdistrict borders the Riverside Promenade to the east, the Shangxiping Road of West Lake Subdistrict to the west, Dongping Street to the south, and Shangshui Gate Street to the north. It administers five community committees: Kaiyuan, Yi’an, Changli, Taichang, and Fenshi, covering a total area of 0.63 square kilometers with a current population of 28,405. The area is home to educational institutions including Kaiyuan Middle School, Changli Road Primary School, Yi’an Road Primary School, and Zhengrong Kindergarten, serving a student population of over 5,000.

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