China Stone City

　　Hezhou Stone City is located 75 kilometers from the city center. It is a cultural site featuring ancient architecture and is a natural stone city with a history of nearly 500 years. The stone city was built in the fifth year of the Longqing era during the Ming Dynasty (1571). Surrounded by towering rocky cliffs that rise from the ground and encircle the area to form a natural stone wall, resembling a fortress, the city only has two natural openings on the north and south sides, hence the name “Stone City.” The stone city mainly consists of two semicircular cliff-like peaks forming a closed space, covering an area of 50 mu within the walls. To the east, it is shielded by Jinchijian Mountain, and to the west by Wuzhishan Mountain. There is a southern gate to the south and a northern perimeter to the north. There are openings on both the northern and southern sides of the mountain range, with stone walls constructed and gates installed, known respectively as the North and South City Gates. The northern wall is 73 meters long and 6 meters high, with a 1.2-meter-high protective wall. The northern gate is arched, 3 meters wide, and above the gate is a watchtower about 5 meters tall, bearing a plaque inscribed with “Beiyue Pavilion.” The southern gate is similarly constructed, with “Nanxing Tower” written horizontally across the watchtower.

　　Outside the northern gate of the stone city, an ancient banyan tree with twisted roots almost covers the stone-built wall and the entire gate. This ancient banyan has a crown diameter of 40 meters, with climbing roots 8 meters wide, lush foliage, and a tree canopy that resembles a giant umbrella sheltering the sky. The ruins of ancient government offices within the stone city are still clearly visible. According to expert research, Pumen Stone City is also the origin of the national Patrol Inspectorate system, as well as the dividing line between Guangdong and Guangxi and the birthplace of Cantonese. Traditional stone cities in China, also called stone forts, refer to villages enclosed by stone walls built by ancient people. However, Hezhou Stone City is a fortress constructed by utilizing a natural circular karst landform enhanced with manual work. The newly discovered stone cities include: China Stone City, Beijin Stone City, and Limu Stone City in Babu District; Zhongdong Stone City, Jietang Stone City, Shangen Stone City, and Beituotuo Stone City in Zhaoping County; Niumiao Stone City, Hetang Stone City, and Fengmu Stone City in Zhongshan County; and Fuxi Stone City, Xiushan Stone City, Dongshan Stone City, Jiuyue Mountain Stone Fort, Luosi Mountain Stone Fort, and Milishan Stone Fort in the Fenghuang Yao Autonomous County. These newly discovered stone cities have all suffered varying degrees of damage, but most still largely retain their original appearance. For instance, the walls, gates, and battlements of Zhongdong Stone City are very well preserved and hold significant potential for tourism development.

　　Previously, only China Stone City in Pumen Town, Babu District of Hezhou City was designated as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit. The construction date of Hezhou Stone City sites is earliest at China Stone City. Based on the ancient tombs and ruins distributed around it, it is evident that it naturally formed as early as the Neolithic Age. Most of Hezhou’s stone cities were built in remote mountainous areas with no permanent residents in normal times, serving merely as temporary shelters to escape bandit raids during times of war. A few of the stone cities were originally villages that had fixed residents throughout history.