Ancient Bailong Fort

Ancient Bailong Fort

Ancient Bailong Fort is located on four small hills along the seashore of Jiangshan Peninsula in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is an important part of the Jiangshan Peninsula scenic area and is now a key cultural relic protection unit of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

After the outbreak of the Opium War, China’s closed-door policy was broken, and Western powers continued to invade. To strengthen coastal defenses, in the 13th year of the Guangxu reign (1887), Governor-General of Liangguang Zhang Zhidong personally led a team to survey Zhushan, Jiangping, and Bailongwei peninsulas in Dongxing City. Four fortresses were built on the four hills of Bailongwei Peninsula, collectively known as “Bailong Fort.” These include “Bailong Platform,” “Genkeng Platform,” “Longzhen Platform,” and “Longxiang Platform.” The open-air gun platforms are oval-shaped, approximately 9 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 0.8 meters high. The forts are all made of concrete and are quite sturdy. Each fort was equipped with six large cannons manufactured in Britain. Each cannon is about four meters long, weighs approximately six to seven tons, and has a caliber of about 20 centimeters.

The “Bailong Fort” serves not only as a military facility along the coastal defense line but also as a solemn and solid architectural complex. The main gate tower of each fort is entirely built with square stone blocks, with multiple steps leading up to it. At the center of each bat-wing-shaped gate tower is an inscribed bluestone slab with the name of the fort engraved in regular script, giving the entire structure a majestic and imposing presence.