Ruins of Pingliang City

Ruins of Pingliang City

The Pingliang City ruins are a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Sichuan Province.

Pingliang City is located on Pingliangzhai, about 10 kilometers west of downtown Bazhou District, Bazhong City. In the 11th year of the Chunyou era (1251) during the Southern Song Dynasty, Yu Jie, who had previously served as the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan and was then the Minister of War, ordered General Zhang Shi to construct Pingliang City. The name signifies "sweeping away Liangzhou," and thus the mountain stronghold was named accordingly. Pingliang City is situated atop the mountain stronghold, which is surrounded by steep cliffs, making it easily defensible and difficult to attack. It is one of the ancient strongholds in Sichuan used to resist Mongol forces. During the Song Dynasty, city walls extending 20 li were built on the stronghold, along with five stockades and nine gates, arranged in two layers—inner and outer—in an orderly fashion, presenting a formidable defensive posture where “one man could hold the pass against ten thousand.” During the resistance against the Mongols, the state capital’s officials, civilians, and government offices were temporarily relocated here. In the second year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1797), the White Lotus Sect peasant uprising army occupied Bazhou City, prompting the city’s officials, civilians, and government offices to relocate again to Pingliang City. The Hongxi Temple, also known as the Zhenwu Temple (now destroyed), was built inside the city. Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty posthumously honored Zhang Bilu, the Governor-General of Sichuan and a British resistance general, with the posthumous title “Wuzhuang” (Martial and Valiant). Zhang Bilu, a native of ancient Bazhou, was buried on Pingliangzhai. The words “Wuzhuang Jiacheng” (The Noble Tomb of Wuzhuang) are inscribed on the mountainside.

In 1933, the Fourth Front Red Army fought battles in Pingliang City, with Commander-in-Chief Xu Xiangsheng directing the combat from there.

The stronghold features the naturally formed Pingliang Cave and cliff carvings built in ancient times, as well as an ancient well and a horse-watering pool within the city.

The Qing-era Bazhou Annals recorded: “Traveling more than ten li west out of the state capital, the mountains gradually rise, stretching all the way to the foot of Pingliang Mountain. The crenellated walls (varying-height fortifications) stand unevenly, appearing from afar like a crimson city in the sky (similar to Tiantai’s Chicheng in Zhejiang), ethereally suspended in the air. All around are towering cliffs and precipitous rock faces, with only narrow paths leading up. Once inside the city, open plains suddenly come into view. The city was established by Zhang Shi. By the Chunyou era of the Song Dynasty, our territories had been shrinking day by day. This city, isolated in a corner, was named after the mission to pacify Liangzhou (present-day Hanzhong). The cliff inscriptions read: ‘Commanding a strategic location, Hanzhong is within reach; it shall serve as the foundation for revival.’ Yet it did not fulfill its intended purpose during the Southern Song. Several hundred years later, when the ‘sect rebels’ (a derogatory term used by feudal rulers for the White Lotus Sect army) caused unrest, the state capital lay in ruins, and officials and civilians sought refuge here. The military’s grain supplies were all stored here, and General E, the military governor (an official title), also took office here. In the end, the ‘rebel pests’ (a derogatory term for the White Lotus Sect rebel army) were eradicated, and Sichuan and Shaanxi were pacified. Thus, the name Pingliang seems fitting even today. Future generations, reflecting on the past, may also come to understand how divine forces align with human endeavors—omens of fortune surely arise in their own time!”

Bazhou’s Pingliang City

Since its establishment over 750 years ago, Pingliang City still retains its surrounding mountain walls, city gates, and foundational stones. Within the city, remnants such as the Zhenwu Temple, horse-watering pool, and state government offices can still be found, while outside the city there are sites like the Seal-Receiving Platform and stone flagpoles. Beneath Pingliang City lies Pingliang Cave at the foot of the mountain, commonly known as the Immortal Cave. Legend has it that a recluse named Miaotong once practiced alchemy in the cave and was regarded as an immortal, hence the name.

Protected area: 150 meters beyond the edge of the stronghold walls to the south and west; 250 meters from the first step of the stone stairway at the ancient gate of the ruins to the edge of the highway to the north; 300 meters from the first step of the stone stairway at the ancient gate to Longbeishi to the east.

Construction control zone: 50 meters beyond the protected area.

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Sichuan Province