Wuhua Shuizhai

Wuhua Shuizhai

Wuhua Shuizhai is located on Daxin Street in Hedong Town (formerly Shuizhai), Wuhua County. It was established by Zhou Xun during the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty. This enclosed fortress was built on a small hill close to the banks of the Qin River, with its western side facing the water and the rest surrounded by low-lying fields and farmland — “situated on high ground between deep waters, its fortifications were naturally secure and defensible.” The total built-up area is approximately 10,000 square meters. The fortress had three gates — east, west, and north — and housed dozens of residential buildings within, all laid out in a traditional courtyard style, with walls made from rammed earth mixed with lime and sand, and tiled roofs that were either gabled or hipped. Running north–south through the fortress was a stone-paved passageway about 200 meters long. Along the western edge by the riverbank, a stone wall about 200 meters long and 2.5 to 3 meters high (locally reaching up to 10 meters) was constructed, with a gate providing access to the riverside for water collection. The southern gate was built as an arched gateway using stone and blue bricks, measuring 7 meters in width, 5.5 meters in wall thickness, and 3.5 meters in height. The vaulted gate opening itself is 2.7 meters high and 1.9 meters wide. Above the gate stands a small temple constructed with bricks and tiles, featuring a hipped roof, measuring 7 meters in width, 5.5 meters in depth, and 4 meters in height, which enshrines the Goddess of the Sea (Mazu). Five stone stelae are embedded in the gatehouse wall, documenting the repairs and maintenance carried out on the fortress and its temple during the Yongzheng and Jiaqing eras of the Qing Dynasty, along with the names of donors who contributed silver. Shuizhai remains relatively well-preserved today.

Zhou Xun (birth and death dates unknown), a native of Shuizhai, Changle County (now Wuhua). In the sixth year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty (1572), he was appointed as an Imperial Tribute Student (Sui贡). During the Longqing period, frequent activities by peasant rebel groups such as those led by Su Jixiang prompted Zhou Xun to take defensive measures. “He dismantled bricks and stones from his own house, rallied the local people, and constructed the fortified watchtowers and battlements of Shuizhai, making them as solid and orderly as those of a city.”