The North Gate Tower of Wuxuan County

The North Gate Tower of Wuxuan County

The North Gate Tower of Wuxuan County

Located on Shangbei Street in Wuxuan Town, commonly known as the North Tower. The North Tower Gate is also called the Shangwu Gate. The North Tower was built in the early Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu era; initially, an earthen wall was constructed, which was later replaced with brick during the Chenghua era. The city wall is two zhang high and one zhang three chi wide, surrounded by a moat that is one zhang five chi wide and four chi deep. The county town had gate towers on all four sides—east, west, south, and north. In the early Qing Dynasty, military police stations were set up at each gate tower, with ten soldiers stationed at each. In the eighth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign (1636), the Two Emperors Temple was relocated from Gaolishan to the North Tower. In the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1689), the North Tower was used as a county charitable school. In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign (1736), it was converted into a poorhouse to house vagrants, and the charitable school was discontinued. In the thirty-first year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1767), it was renovated. In the early years of the Republic of China, the militia bureau was established in the North Tower, and in the twenty-second year of the Republic of China (1934), it became the Wuxuan Town Office. In 1985, the People's Government of Wuxuan County designated it as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit.