Old Town of Changpo

　　    ) of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties and was abandoned in the fourth year of the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty (1468), having endured for nearly a thousand years.

　　    According to the *Gaozhou Prefecture Records*, “During the Datong era of the Liang Dynasty, after establishing Gaozhou, the Dianbai Commandery was also carved out from Haichang.” In the Sui Dynasty, “in the ninth year of the Kaihuang era (589), the Dianbai and Haichang commanderies were abolished, and the Dianbai County was established.” Both the commandery and county governments were based in the Old Town. In the 23rd year of the Zhenguan era (650) of the Tang Dynasty, the Gaozhou government seat was moved from Gaojiang to Liangde; then, in the 11th year of the Dali era (776), it was moved again from Liangde to Dianbai. From then on, the Old Town was elevated from a county and commandery seat to a prefectural seat. In the 17th year of the Zhiyuan era (1280) of the Yuan Dynasty, Gaozhou was changed to Gaozhou Road. In the first year of the Hongwu era (1368) of the Ming Dynasty, Gaozhou Road was changed to Gaozhou Prefecture, and the prefectural seat was relocated from the Old Town to Maoming City. In the fourth year of the Chenghua era (1468) of the Ming Dynasty, the Dianbai County seat was moved from the Old Town to Shen Dianwei, reducing the Old Town to a fort, also called the Dianbai Fort. From then on, the Old Town ended its long history as an administrative center at the levels of prefecture, commandery, and county, becoming a township under Maoming County.

　　    The Old Town lies with Baoya Mountain to its north, Shigu River to its south, and is centered around a vast plain basin, surrounded by hills. Its strategic position allows both easy advance and solid defense, making it highly important militarily.

　　    The layout of the Old Town is divided into inner and outer cities, resembling a square shape. The outer city measures over 400 meters per side, while the inner city is about 200

　　    meters per side. Between the inner and outer cities, there is a defensive moat encircling the walls, ranging from 30 to over 100 meters in width. The city wall has gates on the east, south, west, and north sides, each 10 meters wide. The walls were built layer by layer using yellow mud, with each layer being 10 centimeters high and the total earthen wall thickness reaching 5.5 meters. The outside of the rammed earth layers was reinforced with blue bricks. The inner wall is 25 meters thick, and the outer wall is 28 meters thick. At each of the four corners and above the four city gates (east, south, west, and north), guard towers were constructed, making it a fairly large and well-equipped ancient city.

　　    Throughout successive dynasties, the Old Town underwent repairs and reinforcement, especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the *Gaozhou Prefecture Records*, “In the seventh year of the Yongle era, Commander Yu Lin... used bricks to build a structure measuring 640 steps in circumference, 1,100 zhang around, 1.2 zhang high, plus 0.5 zhang, totaling 1.7 zhang high. Towers were built on each of the four gates (east, west, south, and north). There were 40 upper-section towers, four corner turrets, and 32 battlements.” In the third year of the Wanli era, “12 watchtowers were built beyond the four walls to resist enemies, with four holes opened to accommodate muskets.” In the seventh year of the Wanli era, the city walls were further “raised by three chi, the top pathway paved as a covered bridge, three chi five cun in height.”

　　    In the ninth year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, “12 watchtower platforms were built on each side of the city.” In the 14th year, “the city walls were extensively repaired, the four corners reinforced with stone instead of brick, and the eastern and western watchtower platforms were completely rebuilt. The city’s perimeter measured 1,164 zhang, 3 zhang wide, and 1.7 zhang deep.” During the Tianqi era, “due to the enclosing nature of the city, the moat was cleared and dredged once again. The depth and width of the pool were doubled compared to before.” Thus, due to the Old Town’s unique geographical location and continuous renovations over the dynasties, it transformed from an administrative ancient city into a military stronghold.

　　    There is a rich abundance of both above-ground and underground cultural relics in and around the Old Town. Above ground, preserved ancient structures include one Temple to Lady Xian, one Ancestral Hall of Feng Bao, and two ancient wells. The Temple to Lady Xian was built to commemorate Lady Xian, and the Ancestral Hall of Feng Bao was built to honor Feng Bao, her husband. Both temples were initially constructed in the Sui Dynasty and renovated during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The mouths of the ancient wells are very narrow, and ancient pottery vessels once used for drawing water remain at the bottoms.

　　    Chencang Rice is one of the most abundant relics buried underground in the Old Town. According to the *Gaozhou Prefecture Records*, “Locals digging the earth often find cellars containing rice, hard as stone. Boiling it into a soup can cure plagues. It is said to be Lady Xian’s Chencang Rice.” The Chencang Rice is mainly distributed on the southwestern side of the pond in front of the Temple to Lady Xian in the Old Town, scattered across about 750 square meters underground, lying 1.3 meters beneath the surface soil, with a thickness of 30–100 centimeters. The grains are black, resembling charcoal, and crumble upon touch when excavated. However, they become as hard as stone after being boiled. The resulting water is clear but carries an earthy taste, and it is said to have medicinal value. The Chencang Rice was discovered in the late Qing Dynasty and has since been excavated in quantities exceeding 1,800 jin.

　　    A wide variety of artifacts have been unearthed from underground in the Old Town, including everyday utensils, architectural components, and special items related to military equipment. For example, the stone carving socket is quite unique—this object has an upper socket, a neck adorned with double-layered inverted lotus patterns, a lower body shaped like an octagon, with feet larger than the body, and is decorated with cloud motifs. It was a stone socket used for weapon racks in the Tang Dynasty. The mythical beast door chock is one of the architectural components, a stone piece used to install door sills. This object features the head of a mythical beast, protruding forward. Its neck is long and slightly curved, with fin-like ridges on the upper half, and a horizontal groove and round holes at the back for placing the door sill and door panel.

　　    A large number of city wall bricks have also been unearthed along with various artifacts. These bricks are relatively large, and their surfaces often bear inscriptions such as “Gaozhou” or auspicious phrases like “May you live in peaceful times forever,” as well as the names of craftsmen.

　　    On the northern Baoya Mountain and southern hillsides outside the city, due to soil erosion and construction work, a large number of ceramic artifacts have been exposed, dating from the Han Dynasty onward, with the majority from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. These relics provide reliable evidence for studying the ancient economic development of southern Guangdong.

　　    The Old Town ruins hold significant historical and scientific value and have been designated as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Guangdong Province by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province.