Ancient City of Shuozhou

Ancient City of Shuozhou

The Ancient City of Shuozhou is a cultural tourism attraction.

Introduction: The Ancient City of Shuozhou from the Northern Qi Dynasty and the city from the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties are located in present-day Shuocheng District, Shuozhou City. They are among the earlier preserved ancient cities in Shanxi Province with relatively intact ruins. Strategically situated between the inner and outer sections of the Great Wall beyond Yanmen Pass, it connects to Inner Mongolia to the north and guards the three passes of Yanmen, Pianguan, and Ningwu to the south. With access routes to counties such as Xinzhou, Dai, and Yuanping, it served as a vital frontier stronghold in ancient times, capable of supporting Datong and defending against threats across Shanxi. It was a strategic military location where reinforcements could be sent to Datong or defenses could be mounted across all of Shanxi, making it a contested site throughout history. In history, minority rulers such as the Xiongnu, Turks, Uyghurs, Xianbei, Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols often first besieged Shuozhou before advancing through Yanmen Pass toward Taiyuan. Notable historical events include Han Xin’s defection to the Xiongnu in Mayi during the Western Han Dynasty, the bloody suppression of Mayi City by General Zhou Bo; the “Mayi Conspiracy” where the Han Dynasty lured and destroyed the Xiongnu; Liu Wuzhou’s uprising and the killing of the prefect in Mayi at the end of the Sui Dynasty; the battles between Tang forces and the Turks over Mayi during the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty; the victories and eventual capture of Yang Ye at Huanzhou and Shuozhou as well as his defeat at Chenjiagou during the Song Dynasty; frequent raids on Shuozhou by the Adebos tribe during the Ming Dynasty; and uprisings such as the peasant rebellion led by Xiong Liu in the Qing Dynasty—all of which took place in Shuozhou.

According to the Shuozhou Annals, the exact construction date of the ancient city walls was the eighth year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (557). The walls stretched nine li and thirteen meters in circumference and were built from rammed earth. They were used through the Sui, Tang, Liao, and Jin dynasties, boasting a history of 1,439 years to date. These walls were expanded from the site of the Qin and Han-era Mayi City. In the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, half of the northwest walls were removed, and the remaining northeastern section of the Northern Qi walls was used to rebuild the Shuozhou city. In the third year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1370), the walls were bricked.

The Northern Qi-era ancient city had a rectangular layout, measuring 1,800 meters from north to south and 1,600 meters from east to west, with a perimeter of 6,800 meters and covering a total area of 2.88 million square meters. The existing wall ruins are about 8 meters high, with a base width of approximately 15 meters and a top width of around 10 meters. The upper structural details of the city walls are no longer clear.

The Shuozhou city built in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties was situated within the southwest corner of the Northern Qi city. At that time, the walls stood 12 meters high, with crenellations adding an additional 2 meters, bringing the total height to 14 meters. The perimeter was 4,000 meters, featuring four barbicans, four corner towers, twelve watchtowers, four gate towers, and four beacon towers. The four gates were named Wende Gate to the east, Wuding Gate to the west, Cheng’en Gate to the south, and Zhensa Gate to the north. Today, apart from the southern city walls, gates, western city walls, gates, and barbicans, other structures have been lost. The internal streets and layout of the city largely remain as they were originally.

Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province