Jingzhou ancient city wall

1. Binyang Tower (Scenic spot)

Binyang Tower stands above Yinbin Gate of Jingzhou Ancient City. It was first built in the Ming dynasty and rebuilt in the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty (1861). In August 1986, it was redesigned and reconstructed by the National Institute for Cultural Relics Protection Research and officially opened to domestic and foreign visitors in 1987. Binyang Tower features a double-eaved Xieshan-style roof with a large timber-frame structure, preserving the architectural style of the Ming dynasty. The upper level has an open surrounding gallery, and under the east eaves hangs a plaque inscribed in regular script by Zhao Puchu with the golden characters “Binyang Tower.” As a core attraction of Jingzhou Ancient City, visitors can ascend the tower to enjoy a panoramic view of the ancient city.

2. Jingzhou City Wall Construction Techniques Exhibition Hall (Scenic spot)

This 19.3-meter-long, 7.2-meter-high, and about 1-meter-thick “dry-rammed” city wall section was discovered in August 2000 during restoration of the barbican at Yuan’an Gate (the Small North Gate). Research shows that it was built using sand, lime, and sticky rice slurry through “dry-ramming.” Each tamped layer is 0.19 meters thick with weep holes between layers. It is over 500 years old. The hall also displays inscribed bricks from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which record the construction history of the city wall and changes in administrative divisions.

3. Chaozong Tower (Scenic spot)

Chaozong Tower is the only surviving ancient building on the ancient city wall. It was built in the 18th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1838). The tower is named “Chaozong Tower.” (The inscription beneath the ridge beam records the reconstruction time: Rebuilt in the auspicious hours of the 10th day of the ninth lunar month, Wuxu year, in the 18th year of Daoguang of the Great Qing (1838).) The gatehouse adopts both through-tenon and beam-lifting timber structures.

5. Gong’an Gate and Gate Platform (Scenic spot)

Gong’an Gate is located on the southern section of the east city wall. Formerly called the Small East Gate, it was renamed Gong’an Gate in the Qing dynasty. It consists of two gates: the main gate platform and the arrow-tower gate platform. A wall was built between them to enclose a barbican, forming a roughly semicircular plan. Inside the arched gate are grooves for the portcullis and ceiling openings; the foundation of the arrow-tower platform is built with large bluestone, rising straight from the moat bank. Outside the gate lay an ancient wharf connected to inland waterways leading to the Yangtze River, hence it was called the Water Gate. It is the only water gate in Jingzhou City. The gatehouse was originally named Wangjiang Tower, later renamed Chuwang Tower. It was destroyed in the flames of war during the Japanese invasion, and only the site remains today.

6. Nanji Gate and Gate Platform (Scenic spot)

Nanji Gate lies in the middle section of the south city wall and is commonly known as the Old South Gate. It features two gates: the main gate platform and the arrow-tower platform, with a surrounding wall between them forming a barbican. Compared with other gate platforms, Nanji Gate’s platform is larger in scale, and both the main and arrow-tower platforms are aligned north-south along the same central axis. Symmetrical barrel-vaulted side doors open on both sides of the barbican, with two pathways intersecting in a cross shape and paved with large bluestone slabs. The gatehouse was named Qujiang Tower. Historical records note that during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty (731–741), Chancellor Zhang Jiuling, demoted to Jingzhou as Chief Administrator, often climbed this tower to compose poetry. As Zhang Jiuling hailed from Qujiang, Yunzhou in the Tang, later generations named the gatehouse Qujiang Tower in his memory. Qujiang Tower was destroyed during the Japanese invasion; only the platform site remains.

7. Anlan Gate and Gate Platform (Scenic spot)

Anlan Gate is located in the middle section of the west city wall, commonly known as the West Gate, and was originally called Longshan Gate. In the 53rd year of the Qianlong reign (1789), several sections of the west city wall were destroyed by flooding; after restoration it was renamed Anlan Gate, meaning “to pacify floods and bring peace to the realm.” Anlan Gate consists of the main gate platform and the arrow-tower platform, with a surrounding wall between them forming a roughly square barbican. The main platform has pedestrian steps and horse ramps on both sides, and above the inner arched gate hangs a stone plaque inscribed “Anlan Gate” in regular script. The gatehouse was originally named Jiuyang Tower; it was destroyed during the Japanese invasion. In the early years after Liberation, a three-bay, double-eaved gabled-roof gatehouse was built, but due to age and human damage it became dangerous and was demolished in 1983, leaving only the platform’s column grid layout.

8. Gongji Gate and Chaozong Tower (Scenic spot)

Gongji Gate is located on the western section of the north city wall, commonly known as the Great North Gate. It was called Liu Gate in the Song dynasty, Gongchen Gate in the Ming dynasty, and was renamed Gongji Gate during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty. Facing north with its back to the south, Gongji Gate has an outer arrow-tower platform and a barbican. Stairs and horse ramps are set on both sides of the platform. The gatehouse is named Chaozong Tower, signifying “the rivers and Han returning to the court.” It was rebuilt in the 18th year of the Daoguang reign (1838). The large timber structure is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a double-eaved Xieshan roof. The first floor has an outer gallery, and the second floor features “well-opening” balustrades. Chaozong Tower is simple and dignified, majestic in presence, and is the only surviving Qing-dynasty ancient gatehouse on Jingzhou’s city wall.

9. Yuan’an Gate and Gate Platform (Scenic spot)

Yuan’an Gate is located on the eastern section of the north city wall, commonly known as the Small North Gate, formerly called Weicheng Gate and renamed Yuan’an Gate in the Qing dynasty, implying stability in the north. Yuan’an Gate consists of the main gate platform and the arrow-tower platform, with a surrounding wall between them forming a rectangular barbican. The main platform has pedestrian steps and horse ramps on both sides, and above the inner arched gate hangs a stone plaque inscribed “Yuan’an Gate,” with the upper line reading “Eighth month of the Jiyou year of the Qianlong reign,” and the lower line reading “Erected by Zhang Fangli, in charge of southern affairs of Jingzhou Prefecture.” The gatehouse was originally named Jinglong Tower and was destroyed during the Japanese invasion. During restoration of the gate platform in 2000, a section of wall built by rammed layers of lime and sticky rice slurry was discovered on the west side of the platform. To strengthen protection and display, the Jingzhou City Wall Construction Techniques Exhibition Hall was built and opened to the public in May 2001.

10. Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 24 (Scenic spot)

Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 24 is located about 300 meters west of Xiejia Mountain on the south city wall of Jingzhou (commonly known as White Horse Well). The plan is square. Three sides of the walls are built with Song-dynasty bricks, and the four brick walls are steep like a “well.” Inside there is a defense platform. There are five observation loopholes (firing ports) on the front and side walls. At the bottom on the west side, there is a hidden door leading outside the city. It was restored in August 1999.

11. White Horse Well (Scenic spot)

White Horse Well is an important military facility on the city wall (Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 24), located about 300 meters west of Xiejia Mountain on the south city wall of Jingzhou. The plan is square, with three sides of the walls built with Song-dynasty bricks, and the four brick walls steep like a “well.” There is an emergency hidden door at the lower part of the west wall, wide enough for one person and one horse. In emergencies such as when the city was besieged and the gates sealed, a messenger would ride a white steed out through this door to deliver urgent messages and seek reinforcements. Because the tunnel is as deep as a well and white horses passed through, it is commonly called “White Horse Well.” It was restored in August 1999.

12. Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 18 (Scenic spot)

Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 18 is located about 380 meters east of Gongji Gate (Great North Gate), facing north with its back to the south. The three sides of the walls extend about 280 meters. The interior is divided into three levels: the lower and middle levels served as resting places or garrisons for soldiers, and the top level connects to the walkway for sentry duty or firing. There are five observation loopholes on the front and side walls for observing the enemy and defensive firing. It was reinforced and repaired in June 1979.

13. Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 25 (Scenic spot)

Hidden Troop Tunnel No. 25 is located 224 meters west of Nanji Gate. It was originally a bastion (battery). During repairs in 2007, it was discovered, and large quantities of porcelain shards of bowls, plates, cups, and spoons, as well as three human skeletons, were unearthed from different soil layers. The interior features a two-level corridor structure, with five observation loopholes (firing ports) on the south-facing wall and its two sides. Holes for placing floor beams are preserved on the inner walls around. Cleaning and restoration were completed in May 2008.

14. Site of the Three Brush Pens (Scenic spot)

Also known as Wenfeng. According to the Annals of Jiangling County, the Three Brush Pens existed by the late Ming and early Qing. They were originally an auxiliary structure of the Wenmiao (Confucian Temple) of Jingzhou Prefecture in the Ming dynasty, symbolizing the three renowned men of letters from Jingzhou Prefecture: the brothers Yuan Zongdao, Yuan Hongdao, and Yuan Zhongdao of Gong’an, collectively known as the “Three Yuans of Gong’an.” The three steles are roughly arranged in a triangular pattern, with the central one in front and the east and west ones behind. In April 1960, the former Jiangling County People’s Government designated it a county-level protected cultural relic unit. The Three Brush Pens were dismantled during the Cultural Revolution.

15. Songjia Mountain (Scenic spot)

Songjia Mountain is located west of the New North Gate of the northern city wall. According to legend, Guan Yu once loosened his armor here, hence the name. It is one of the “Three Mountains Not Seen as Mountains” of Jingzhou City. The Qianlong-era Annals of Jiangling County, “Mountains and Rivers,” recorded: “Songjia Mountain, north of the city, where the Saint Guan loosened his armor; there was also a shrine.” It was destroyed in the late Qing dynasty.

16. Xiejia Mountain (Scenic spot)

Xiejia Mountain lies at the New South Gate of the south city wall. Legend has it that after returning in triumph, Guan Yu once removed his armor here, rewarded his soldiers, and overlooked the pavilions and markets within and outside the city. In 1992, a new city gate was built through the broken wall, cutting away its western half. In 2008, with the approval of the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the People’s Government of Hubei Province, a Guan Yu Shrine was reconstructed here.

17. Zhijia Mountain (Scenic spot)

Zhijia Mountain is located at the northwest corner of Jingzhou City. According to legend, when Lü Meng “crossed the Yangtze in plain clothes” to raid Jingzhou, Guan Yu led troops back from Xiangyang and Fancheng to rescue the city. On reaching the city, he found that the defending generals had surrendered the city to Eastern Wu. Heartbroken, he said, “This is the city I built; it cannot be attacked,” and threw his armor here, hence the name. The name also signifies “laying down arms and ceasing warfare.”

18. Introduction to Three Watchtower Sites

Zhongxuan Tower

Zhongxuan Tower is located at the southeast corner bend of the east city wall of Jingzhou. Records state that it was originally named “Wangsha Tower” and was first built in the Han dynasty. Wang Can (style name Zhongxuan), the foremost of the “Seven Scholars of Jian’an” in the late Eastern Han, came to Jingzhou to seek refuge with Liu Biao but was not well utilized. Unable to realize his talent, he climbed this tower and composed “Rhapsody on Ascending the Tower” to express his feelings. In memory of Wang Can, the tower was renamed “Zhongxuan Tower” in the Song dynasty. Ming-dynasty Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng once climbed this tower and composed the magnificent poem “Inscription on Zhongxuan Tower.” The tower was later destroyed in war, and only the site remains today.

Mingyue Tower

Mingyue Tower is located at the northeast corner bend of the east city wall; only the site remains today. It was first built during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Southern Liang. Emperor Yuan of Liang, Xiao Yi, served twice as the governor in Jingzhou for a total of 17 years, later ascending the throne and ruling for 3 years. During this period, he built the luxurious Xiangdong Garden and ordered his subordinate Liu Xiaochuo to construct the tall Mingyue Tower on the north side of Xiangdong Garden. It is said the tower directly connected to the garden. Later, the enemy tower at the northeast corner of the prefectural city inherited the name “Mingyue Tower.” Mingyue Tower was destroyed by Japanese wartime fire, but the site remains well preserved.

Xiongchu Tower

Xiongchu Tower stands on the eastern section of the north city wall of Jingzhou. First built in the early Tang dynasty and rebuilt during the Xianfeng era of the Qing, the poet Du Fu, while living in Jingzhou, celebrated its restoration by the military governor Wei Boyu, Prince of Yangcheng, composing a poem with the opening lines: “A lofty tower rises in mighty Chu to the northwest, flinging open mountains and spreading lakes afar.” In the second year of the Later Liang’s Qianhua era (912 CE), when the military governor Gao Jixing built the city, he took the phrase “Xiong Chu” (mighty Chu) to name the tower. It was later destroyed in warfare, and only the site remains.