Shuozhou City Wall

Shuozhou City Wall

Shuozhou City Wall is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province.

Shuozhou City Wall

Shuozhou City Wall (Third Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: Northern Qi Dynasty

Address: South of Gubei Street, Shuocheng District

Shuozhou was called Mayi during the Qin Dynasty. In the 32nd year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s reign (215 BC), General Meng Tian built a city here to raise horses and resist the Xiongnu. The construction date of the ancient city wall was in the 8th year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (557 AD), expanded upon the site of the Qin and Han dynasty Mayi city. During the Tianbao period of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–559 AD), the administrative seat of Shuozhou was moved to Mayi, and the city was rebuilt on the ruins of the former Qin and Han city. The name “Shuozhou” originated from this time.

The city is square-shaped, with each side approximately 2,000 meters long. As of the June 1983 survey, it had not been excavated. Most of the remaining wall sections still exist, with remnants standing 6–10 meters high, widths of 12–20 meters, and rammed layers 7–12 centimeters thick. The ramming pits are dense, with diameters of about 2 centimeters. The rammed layers contain a large number of Han Dynasty pottery shards, as well as fabric-patterned roof tiles and rope-patterned cylindrical tiles. This city wall dates back to the Northern Qi Dynasty and is one of the earlier and better-preserved ancient city walls still existing in China.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Shanxi Province