The Zengda Pass Watchtower

The Zengda Pass Watchtower

The Zengda Pass Watchtower is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Zengda Pass Watchtower is located on both banks of the Jinchuan River at the junction of Mabang Township and Zengda Township in the county. It has a wooden and stone structure and is a four-sided conical watchtower. The eastern watchtower is situated on the mountainside at the confluence of Zengda Gully and the Jinchuan River on the east bank, 30 meters above the river surface. The tower is 28 meters high, with each side of the base measuring 3 meters and each stone wall being 0.9 meters thick. The western watchtower is located on the mountainside on the west bank of the Jinchuan River, 60 meters above the river surface. Its base measures 5 meters on each side, the tower is 43 meters high, and the stone walls are 0.85 meters thick. Among them, the western watchtower is the tallest in the watchtowers across the northwestern Sichuan plateau, resembling a towering pillar reaching to the sky, and can be called the “King of Watchtowers.”

Zengda Pass is located downstream of the Dadu River and was an ancient mountain pass, guarding the strategic throat between Jinchuan and Danba. The two watchtowers jointly secured this vital passage, making it easy to defend but hard to attack. The watchtowers were built by Shaolupen, the chieftain of Jinchuan (in the early years of Emperor Qianlong’s reign during the Qing Dynasty), and during the two Qianlong-era military campaigns against Jinchuan, they helped eliminate many Qing soldiers.

Protective boundary: 20 meters beyond the site area.

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units