Tiansheng City

　　Tiansheng City is one of the ancient Eight Scenic Spots of Wanzhou, known as "Tiansheng Leaning Against the Sky." It is located one kilometer northwest of Wanzhou District, Chongqing, at an altitude of 467 meters, covering a total area of 400 acres. The mountain stretches from north to south, being narrower in the north and wider in the south, with a length of approximately 1.5 kilometers from north to south and about 500 meters from east to west. It is an important scenic spot within the Yangtze River Three Gorges tourist area. Tiansheng City earned its name due to its majestic terrain—rising abruptly from the flat land, surrounded by cliffs, with sheer rock faces standing tall like walls, naturally forming a fortress-like city. Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei, the Emperor of Shu Han, stationed his troops here while campaigning against the Kingdom of Wu, hence it is also called Tianzi City (Emperor’s City). Owing to its strategic and precipitous location, which is easy to defend but hard to attack—where a single soldier could hold off ten thousand—it has been a vital military stronghold since ancient times. Surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides, access to the fortress gate is only possible via a narrow, winding stone path.

　　The History of Tiansheng City

　　According to historical records, in the late Southern Song Dynasty, Yu Jie, the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan, led the local military and civilians to construct a series of mountain fortress defense systems to resist the invasion of the Mongol armies. As one of these strongholds, Tiansheng City, along with Fishing City in Hechuan, Dahu City in Cangxi, and Baidi City in Fengjie, held off the mighty Mongol forces led by Möngke Khan for thirty-six years. This not only shattered the myth of the Mongol army’s invincibility but also greatly boosted the morale of the Southern Song soldiers and civilians. The Mongols referred to it as one of the “Eight Pillars of Sichuan.”

　　After the fall of the corrupt and decaying Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongol forces sent the Yuan Dynasty general Yang Dayuan to lead troops into Sichuan. His nephew, Wen An, personally commanded a large army to besiege Tianzi City, launching attacks day and night. Under the leadership of the defending general Shangguan Kui, the soldiers and civilians in the city refused to surrender and fought to the death. After holding out for fifty-three days, they were eventually overrun by the Yuan army due to lack of food supplies and external reinforcement. General Shangguan Kui died in close combat, embodying the famous words of the Shu Han general Yan Yan from the Three Kingdoms period: “There are no generals who surrender, only those who are beheaded.” To this day, elders in Tiansheng City still speak of that history with great enthusiasm, recalling every detail as if it had happened just yesterday.

　　In the early Qing Dynasty, the city served as a stronghold for the peasant resistance against the Qing in eastern Sichuan. To this day, cliff inscriptions can still be found on the stone walls near the fortress gate, which are commemorative stelae from the early Yuan Dynasty marking Yang Wen’an’s capture of the city.

　　Before liberation, local bandits ran rampant, making life miserable for the people. Due to its treacherous terrain, Tiansheng City became a gathering place for wealthy locals at the time. Bandit gangs, lusting after its riches, launched numerous attacks on the city but always returned empty-handed, helpless in the face of its steep cliffs. Even today, a local folk song circulates: “What a fine Tiansheng City, with high mountains and rugged paths, herds of fat pigs everywhere, yet impossible to catch.”