Tongyuanmen City Wall Relics Park

Tongyuanmen City Wall Relics Park

Tongyuanmen City Wall Relics Park is located in Qixinggang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing. It was a key construction project of Yuzhong District in 2004, invested by the Yuzhong District government. Construction began on April 1, 2004, and the park was completed and opened to the public in February 2005. The Tongyuanmen City Wall Relics Park consists of a square, city walls, and sculptures. The sculptures depict historical stories of the old city wall's construction, defense, and siege, complemented by two sets of folk-themed sculptures, "Fried Rice Candy Tea" and "Sedan Chair," rich in local flavor. It is one of the places where visitors can experience Chongqing’s history and culture.

Ancient Chongqing had seventeen city gates, following a pattern of "nine open and eight closed" gates, designed according to the principles of the "Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams" to symbolize an impregnable fortress. Tongyuanmen, situated to the west, was the only land gate of Chongqing, serving as the starting point for overland travel to other regions, hence the name "Tongyuan" (meaning "connecting the distant").

The predecessor of Tongyuanmen was Zhenximen. Its foundation dates back to the Jiangzhou City Wall built in 226 AD by Li Yan, the Governor of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period, and the stone-based defensive wall constructed in 1238 AD by Peng Daya to resist the Mongol cavalry. The existing city wall and gate ruins were built in the early Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty by Dai Ding, who erected a stone wall upon the original structure. Through the changes of time and the turmoil of war, the Tongyuanmen city wall has stood for over six hundred years, silently witnessing the historical development of Chongqing.

In 226 AD, the fourth year of the Jianxing era during the Three Kingdoms period under Emperor Liu Shan of Shu, the Governor Li Yan relocated to protect Jiangzhou (now Chongqing) and oversaw the construction of a new city wall, spanning 16 li, extending to the area now known as Tongyuanmen. Since its establishment, Tongyuanmen has witnessed two fierce battles, both recorded in the reliefs at the site: Zhang Jue’s last stand at Tongyuanmen. In 1259 AD, after the death of Mongol Khan Möngke at Diaoyucheng, the Mongol forces retreated. In 1271, Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, and in 1276 captured Lin’an, leading to the fall of the Southern Song. In 1278, they launched a fierce attack on Chongqing, and defending general Zhang Jue fought the Yuan army, his blood staining Tongyuanmen. The second was Zhang Xianzhong’s breach of Tongyuanmen. In 1644, the 17th year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, the peasant rebellion leader Zhang Xianzhong led 600,000 troops in a siege of Chongqing. After six days of intense fighting, he finally broke through Tongyuanmen and occupied this strategic stronghold in eastern Sichuan. Especially after the latter battle, due to the heavy casualties, the area around Qixinggang outside Tongyuanmen became a “mass grave,” which is referred to in the later Chongqing Ballad "Tongyuanmen, drums beat loud, watch them bury the dead." Even today, when Chongqing locals play finger-guessing drinking games, there is still a saying about “ghosts haunting Qixinggang.”

To this day, Tongyuanmen is one of only two remaining ancient city gates in Chongqing, and the section of the city wall near Tongyuanmen is the only relatively well-preserved section of the ancient city wall in the city. As a municipality approved by the State Council as a “Famous Historical and Cultural City,” rescuing and protecting historical relics has become especially important amid a new round of urban development and construction. On July 16, 2003, the Yuzhong District government officially launched the project to build the Tongyuanmen Ancient City Wall Relics Park...

The Tongyuanmen and ancient city wall ruins are located along Zhongshan First Road in Qixinggang, Yuzhong District. What was once the edge of the old Chongqing urban area, with the passage of time and urban expansion, is now situated on a major city thoroughfare, where four roads intersect. It bustles with traffic daily and sees constant pedestrian flow. Residential buildings from different historical periods have been built attached to the city walls. Life continues leisurely both atop and below the walls. What was once a defensive pass guarding the city has now become a place where people live in peace and contentment.