The City Wall of Kanxia

The City Wall of Kanxia

The City Wall of Kanxia is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

Kanxia (Kanxia), located in Shanwei urban area, borders Houjing Village to the north. The city has an irregular oval shape. The original wall was 5.6 meters high, with a remaining height of 3 meters. It features a double-layer sandwich structure, built with lime-sand rammed earth, stretching 1,157 meters in circumference and equipped with 391 battlements. It has four gates—east, west, south, and north—and was outfitted with 78 defensive cannons.

In the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign during the Ming Dynasty, Ye Gaobiao, an official from the Ministry of Works and a local notable, petitioned to build the city at Kanxia. The city was completed in the tenth year (1637). When the Kanxia stronghold was first constructed, it stood against a mountain on one side and was surrounded by water on three sides. The north gate faced the mountain, now the small hill where the transformer station is located. The east, west, and south gates were adjacent to the sea. The west gate (now the location of the South Gate Mazu Temple) served as a water gate where only boats could enter or exit, much like the Liangshan water stronghold described in "Water Margin," with the dock located inside the city. The water stronghold had a navy, equipped with naval vessels capable of reaching Jieshou and Jieshi. To this day, the west gate still retains a “West Gate Pond,” which, though not large, stands as a powerful testament to history.

Kanxia is located at the northern end of Chengnei Road, Xiangzhou Subdistrict, in the urban area, and is one of the most completely preserved ancient city fortifications from the Ming Dynasty in the province. The city was built in the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign (1636), featuring an irregular oval shape with an inner area of 72,000 square meters, a perimeter of 1,157 meters, and walls originally 5.6 meters high (currently 3 meters). It has a double-layer sandwich structure made of lime-sand rammed earth, with four gates—east, west, south, and north—391 battlements, two watchtowers, and 78 coastal defense cannons. Inside the city, there is one Temple to Emperor Wu and one Temple to the City God, along with a large number of cultural relics such as stone carvings, stone horses, and stone lions. Parts of the Kanxia city wall were artificially damaged during the Cultural Revolution, but some sections remain well-preserved. In 1995, Kanxia was listed as a county (district)-level cultural relic protection unit, and in 2008, the Kanxia city wall was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

Xiangzhou Subdistrict: Established in May 1989 (formerly Xiangzhou Commune), Xiangzhou Subdistrict is located in the central area of the city, nestled between mountains and sea. It borders Dongyong Town and Fengshan Subdistrict to the east, Xin'gang Subdistrict to the south, Machang Subdistrict to the west, and Huicao Town to the north, covering a total area of 20.8 square kilometers. It serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of the city, as well as the location of municipal and district party and government offices. The subdistrict governs twelve neighborhood committees and two village committees, with a current total population of 97,256, including 29,246 non-local residents. In 2006, the total industrial and agricultural output value of the subdistrict reached 1,354,490,000 yuan, of which the industrial output value was 1,3... For more detailed information about Xiangzhou Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units