The North Gate Tower of Wuxuan County

　　Located on Shangbei Street in Wuxuan Town, it is commonly known as the North Tower. The North Tower Gate is also called the Shangwu Gate. The North Tower was built in the early Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu reign period. Initially, an earthen wall was constructed, which was later replaced with a brick wall during the Chenghua era. The city wall stood two zhang high and one zhang three chi wide, surrounded by a moat one zhang five chi wide and four chi deep. The county town had gate towers on all four sides—east, west, south, and north. In the early Qing Dynasty, a military police office was set up at each gate tower, with ten soldiers stationed at each. In the eighth year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1636), the Two Emperors Temple was relocated from Gaolishan to the North Tower. In the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1689), the North Tower was repurposed as a county public school. In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng era (1736), it was converted into a poorhouse (Yangji Yuan) to house vagrants, and the public school was discontinued. In the thirty-first year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1767), the structure was renovated. In the early years of the Republic of China, a local militia bureau was established at the North Tower. In the twenty-second year of the Republic of China (1934), it was converted into the Wuxuan Town Office. In 1985, the People’s Government of Wuxuan County designated it as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit.