The earliest and most complete city tower ruins discovered so far in Guangzhou. Tourist: Only the "city base"?

It was my first time traveling to Guangzhou from a foreigner. Because I was worried about external traffic jams during the Qingming Festival, I decided to stay in the city. We first visited the "First Place of Coming to the West" and the "Five-Eyed Well" (interested friends can read the previous article "This is the place where "Bodhidharma" first landed in China. I am wondering: Was it really a river bank in the past?"), and then Walk into the alleys of the old town of Xiguan to look for ancient buildings and feel the "market" style, and then eat the special delicacy "Yi Noodles" on Changshou East Road (interested friends can read the previous article "Guangzhou's "Time-honored" Noodle Shop Preservation and Production A kind of noodle: the ancestor of instant noodles and doll noodles." Then, we continued to the next stop: the Ximen Wengcheng Ruins.

There are many attractions in Guangzhou. The reason why we chose to visit the Ximen Wengcheng Ruins is because of its beauty. Shansan and her friends are travelers who don’t like to check in at tourist attractions. The strong atmosphere of urban life and the historical heritage are what we like. The Ximen Wengcheng Ruins are a small place that you won’t notice even if you pass by. There are many scenic spots, but this is a place of historical memory for Guangzhou.

The Wengcheng ruins at the west gate are located at the intersection of Zhongshan 7th Road and Renmin Middle Road. It was the former west gate of Guangzhou. You can drive by yourself. Locate the "Wengcheng Ruins"; if you come here specially, you can take the subway to Ximenkou Station and walk towards Zhongshan 7th Road to find it. But my friend and I walked directly from Changshou East Road after eating Yi noodles. , this time the three girls Shanshan admired their azimuth ability very much. They had not been to this Lian for a long time, and their ability to recognize the way was a little vague, but they found the Wengcheng ruins very smoothly.

In the past, every city would definitely know it. There are city gates. In the past, there were eighteen city gates inside and outside Guangzhou: including the old city, there are Zhengdong Gate, Zhengxi Gate, Zhengnan Gate, Zhengbei Gate, Guide Gate, Xiaobeimen, Xiaonanmen, and Wenming Gate. There are eight gates in the outer city; there are eight gates in the outer city: Xiaodong Gate, Yongxing Gate, Yongqing Gate, Wuxian Gate, Jinghai Gate, Youlan Gate, Zhulan Gate, and Taiping Gate; there are also two city gates in Jiyi City. . Today we visited the Wengcheng ruins at the west gate, which is the earliest and most complete city tower ruins discovered so far in Guangzhou.

On the side of the intersection, we found the location of the Wengcheng ruins. A model of the original city gate was erected on one side. After walking down the stairs, a sign was erected to introduce the history of the Wengcheng ruins. Looking at the ruins, there were various plants planted around it. The flowers were blooming in spring, and they were very red and green. It’s beautiful. If it weren’t for the cultural protection sign, and if I didn’t know this place in advance, I would have thought it was a park closed to the public.

The Wengcheng ruins at the west gate are the ruins of the Ximen City Wall of the Ming Dynasty. In the 13th year of Hongwu's reign (1380), Zhu Liangzu, Marquis of Yongjia, ordered the expansion of the city of Guangzhou, and built the west city wall around Renmin Road. A west gate was built at the east end of Zhongshan 7th Road, and the remaining "main west gate" tower was built in the middle of the city wall. It was buried at the bottom of Zhongshan 7th Road. Now you can see that the city wall is divided into two sections: the section on the east side in the photo is relatively complete, surrounded by iron railings, and has a sign for cultural relics protection; the other section of the city wall is It is difficult to find. It is located in an alley called "Chang Geng Shou Yue" parallel to Renmin Road. At the end of the alley, the courtyard gate of a house closest to Zhongshan 7th Road is built on the city foundation. This section of the city wall can be connected to the opposite city wall from a distance. The two sections of city wall should be the two sections immediately adjacent to the city gate.

The Wengcheng ruins are called Wengcheng because Wengcheng is a small city specially designed to protect the city gate. In ancient times, city gates were usually the weakest point in a city's defense. In order to strengthen the defensive capabilities of the city gates, hanging gates or suspension bridges will be installed in smaller cities, while urns will be installed in larger cities. Both sides of the urn city are built together with the city wall, with defensive facilities such as arrow towers, gates, and battlements. The urn city gate is usually not in the same straight line as the city gate it protects to prevent attacks by weapons such as battering rams.

We walked around the ruins, and my friend asked curiously: Is this the earliest and most complete city tower ruins discovered so far in Guangzhou? But only the city base was seen? Yes, today, all eighteen city gates in Guangzhou have disappeared. The preservation of the city base and the remaining city walls of the Wengcheng ruins are the earliest and most complete city tower ruins discovered. Today we want to know about the city gate. We can find out from the names of the current roads. For example, the main west gate where the Wengcheng ruins are located is now called the west gate.

In the past, there was a plain outside the main west gate. There was a road leading directly to Zengbu, Xicun, Pantang and other places. The surrounding farmers transported vegetables, fruits and other agricultural products to the provincial capital every day, passing through the Rainbow Bridge, Longjin Bridge enters the main west gate, so the main west gate was one of the busiest city gates in Guangzhou at that time.

Later, due to disrepair, the city wall collapsed in many places. In 1913, the demolition of the main west gate began. This was the beginning of the demolition of the city wall in Guangzhou. In 1918, large-scale demolition of the city wall and road construction began. In 1996, this section of the Ximen Urn City ruins was discovered during the construction of urban infrastructure projects. In 1999, it was announced as a cultural relic protection unit in Guangzhou. In 2003, the Ximen Urn City ruins were renovated into a sunken underground square. It once became a popular tourist attraction in the ancient city of Guangzhou. However, it gradually became quiet again. Looking back today, I can see that it has been clearly renovated and there is an additional city next to it. The model of the door shows that the government departments carefully protect it.

So, have you ever traveled to Guangzhou? Have you ever learned about the city gates and walls in Guangzhou’s history? Do you know the Wengcheng ruins? If only a foundation was left, would you still come to visit it? Welcome to leave a message and share! This article is a copyrighted work and is strictly prohibited from being moved, reproduced, or edited without the written authorization of Shanshan Sanyatou. If you need to reprint, please contact the author Shanshan Sanyatou, thank you.