Remains of the Chan Prefecture City

　　The Chan Prefecture City was first established in the fifth year of the Zhengming era during the Later Liang dynasty of the Five Dynasties period (919 AD) for military defense needs. Li Cunshen, the defending general of the Tang Jin Prince at Chan Prefecture, built a palisade across the river at the Desheng Ferry on the Yellow River and constructed two fortified cities, north and south, along the banks. Soon after, grain supplies were stockpiled and troops stationed here. At that time, the city wall had a circumference of 24 li, with a shape that was straight in the south and arched in the north, resembling a crouching tiger—hence its nickname “Crouching Tiger City.” In the third year of the Tianfu era of the Later Jin dynasty (938 AD), the seat of Chan Prefecture was moved here from Dunqiu (now around Qingfeng County). In the tenth year of the Xining era of Emperor Shenzong of the Song dynasty (1077 AD), the southern city was submerged by the Yellow River. The present Puyang City was built atop the northern city of Chan Prefecture. The remaining sections of the Chan Prefecture City ruins are best preserved in the southwest part of the city, where the remnants reach a height of 12 meters, with the upper wall 26 meters thick and the lower part 46 meters thick. The rammed layers are clearly visible on the exposed cliffs, and the earthen walls contain numerous relics from the Tang and Song dynasties.

　　 According to the records in the "Jiajing Kaizhou Annals" and the "Jiaqing Kaizhou Annals," we know that as late as the Ming and Qing dynasties, Kaizhou City (formerly Chan Prefecture) remained very prosperous. After being expanded by Magistrate Li Jiaxiang in the Ming dynasty, the city walls were “3.5 zhang high, 3 zhang wide, with four gates, a moat 1.5 zhang deep and 3 zhang wide. There were four gates: Yingchun, Chengqiu, Chaoyang, and Gongbei. Outside the barbican, walls encircled all gateways, with multi-story towers rising nearly 5 zhang high atop them, extremely magnificent, unmatched among ten prefectures and counties.” Due to damage from floods and wars, its traditional appearance changed significantly. In the subsequent course of history, the prefectural city was repeatedly damaged and repaired due to warfare and flooding. From the thirteenth year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming dynasty to the third year of the Guangxu era of the Qing dynasty, Kaizhou City underwent 15 rounds of repairs, varying in scale.

　　 In the Qing dynasty, Kaizhou City lay to the south of the old course of the Yellow River and had a semicircular outline, clearly a remnant of war-time defensive design. Today’s Old Town of Puyang still retains the traditional streets and layout dating from the late Qing dynasty to the Republican era. At its center stands a square, four-pillared memorial archway built in the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty (1548 AD). The east-west and north-south streets radiating from the archway largely preserve the historical architectural style of the Qing dynasty. Additionally, remnants of the original urban layout include the City God Temple, Imperial Well Street, Huiluan Stele, Mosque, Catholic Church, and Beiguan.