#Ancient City Wall of Shou County Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Jun)
Historical Sites
Address:
Within the County, Shou County 232200, China
Opening times:
Open all dayOpen
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hour
Spring Outing in Jianghuai: Witness the Ancient City of Shouxian Protected by Its City Walls
🛣️ On the southern bank of the Huai River, standing against the Ba Gong Mountain, there is a chessboard-like Song dynasty city, which is the ancient city of Shouxian. Unlike other ancient cities that have undergone major reconstructions, this one seems to have grown freely with time. In the ancient city, you can drive cars and find continuously renovated buildings without demolishing and rebuilding the entire city. What's more, scattered throughout the city are century-old ancient buildings and the ubiquitous sense of daily life. Of course, the most worthy of attention is the ancient city wall of Shouxian, which has a history of over 900 years.
🧱 About the Ancient City Wall:
1️⃣ Shouxian was once the capital of the Chu state in the late period, Shouchun, located on Ba Gong Mountain. The famous historical battle of the Battle of Fei, known for its victory with fewer troops over many, took place here.
2️⃣ The existing ancient city wall was built during the Ming dynasty, with a complete military defense system. It has a circumference of 7 kilometers and is one of the well-preserved Song dynasty city walls in China. Today's Shouxian city wall is like an open city wall park, with good cultural heritage protection. Shouxian is also among the first batch of national historical and cultural cities.
👉 Must Experience:
1️⃣ Check in from multiple angles at the four city gates. The ancient city wall has four gates: the east gate is Binyang, the south gate is Tongbi (also the most frequently visited gate), the west gate is Dinghu, and the north gate is Jinghuai. Each gate has its protective urn city and towering gate towers, and the city walls stretch on, making this ancient city a heavy historical tome.
2️⃣ Seek out the scattered ancient buildings in the city. As you walk, you will unexpectedly encounter Anhui's largest existing Confucian temple, the largest mosque in East China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the thousand-year-old Bao'en Temple, and the rebuilt gate of the Shouchun Town General Military Office, among other ancient buildings.
↪️ Recommended Route:
1️⃣ It is recommended to first climb the south gate (Tongbi Gate), which is also the main thoroughfare within the city area, where you can overlook the scenery inside and outside the city from atop the gate;
2️⃣ Then, walk along the city wall or ride a bike along the inner ring road to visit Binyang Gate;
3️⃣ Continue forward to reach the north gate, Jinghuai Gate. Not far from the north side of Shouxian ancient city is the Huai River, hence the name Jinghuai. Climbing the north gate, you can take in the beautiful scenery of Ba Gong Mountain. The final stop is the west gate, Dinghu Gate. The overall tour takes about 2 hours.
🎟 Ticket: Free admission. There are almost no charges for the internal attractions.
📍 Address: Inner Ring Road, Shouxian, Huainan City. There is a dedicated parking lot on the city square outside the south gate, with free parking, which is sure to win visitors' favor.
AvaMacLeod19
Shou County, a lesser-known ancient city under the administration of Huainan, is worth a visit
The ancient city wall of Shou County was built during the Xining period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1068-1077), and it has been repaired multiple times during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with a history of over 900 years. The ancient city wall is roughly square in shape, with a chessboard-style layout, a perimeter of 7147 meters, a height of 9.7 meters, a base width of 18-20 meters, and a top width of 6-10 meters. The area within the city is 3.65 square kilometers. The foundation of the city wall is built with large stones, and the middle of the wall is compacted with clay. Interestingly, the outer wall is covered with extra-large blue bricks, while the inner wall is not covered with bricks but is a dirt slope. It is said that the seams between bricks and stones are filled with a mixture of tung oil, glutinous rice juice, and lime paste. The city wall is equipped with 'enemy towers' and 'alarm towers', and the top of the wall is lined with 'crenellations', which are low walls with battlements. The city has four gates, each inscribed with its name: Bin Yang in the east, Tong Fei in the south, Ding Hu in the west, and Jing Huai in the north, each with a barbican except for the south gate. According to local residents, the east and north gates are the old city gates, while the south and west gates have been rebuilt in recent years. There is a moat outside the city.
The uniqueness of the ancient city wall of Shou County lies in its unique water level regulation system! In the first year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573), Shou County saw the emergence of 'moon dams'. The so-called moon dam is a cylindrical dam wall built of brick and stone structures, with the corner of the inner city's conduit as the center, rising above the city wall. It is surrounded by a thick embankment, and from a distance, it looks like a small hill. Inside the moon dam, there are stone steps that lead down, and at the bottom of the dam, there are brick spirals with several gates. The moon dam has four functions: first, it protects the sluice overall, isolating it from the outside and avoiding the inundation of internal river water; second, it allows the gates to be opened and closed at any time, controlling the flow at will; third, it enables timely comparison of internal and external water levels; fourth, it completely eliminates the hidden danger of external water backflow causing disasters. During the reconstruction in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the east and west moon dams were respectively honored with the titles 'Chong Yong Zha Liu' and 'Jin Tang Gong Gu'. There were originally three moon dams, one each in the northeast, northwest, and southwest of the city, but only the northeast and northwest ones remain.
Overall, Shou County ancient city is not crowded with tourists. The main roads within the city are spacious, with many parking spaces and parking lots along the road. There is a ring road inside the city wall, making it very convenient for self-driving tours. It is important to note that only the south gate allows vehicle entry and exit. In addition to the four city gates and the east and west moon dams, there are many cultural relics and historical sites within the city, such as the Confucian Temple, the Mosque, the Bao'en Temple, the Zhou Shu Qiao Tower, and the Shouzhou General Military Office, all of which are worth a visit, and the key point is that they are all free!
auric_3851
Ancient City of Shouxian, Huanan, Anhui | A place of strategic importance
| A place of strategic importance.
🚩Due to its important location at the junction of the river and Huai, Shouxian has always been a place of strategic importance for the military, where golden halberds fly. The ancient city wall of Shouxian was built for military defense!
✅The ancient city wall of Shouxian was built in the Song Dynasty, rebuilt in the Northern Song Dynasty, and has a history of more than 900 years.
✅ Brick walls and stone bases, four gates in the city, each with a urn city, this is exactly what we see in ancient film and television works about the ancient city wall, which also has a complete military defense system, is the best preserved ancient city wall of the Song Dynasty in China, more than 100 years earlier than the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi.
✅Located on the banks of the Jianghuai, Shouxian has been plagued by floods for a long time in history. The construction of the city wall has blocked the flood outside the city wall many times in history, saving the residents from the disaster of flood.
➡️The ancient city wall has four ancient city gates: Binyang in the east, Tongfu in the south, Dinghu in the west, and Jinghuai in the north
👉Although the name of the ancient city wall of Shouxian is little known, and even once in a state of being forgotten, its historical value is still not lost to other ancient cities.
✅ Ancient exploration tips
🚩Ancient city wall of Shouxian
📍Old city area of Shouxian, Huanan City
🎫Open to the public for free all day
⏰Recommended tour time 2 hours
🚌Take bus No. 29 in the city, take bus No. 601 in Shouxian
Ancient city wall of Shouxian