China has a long history of building city walls, which played an important role in protecting cities in ancient times. Today, these buildings have become one of the key symbols of the development of Chinese culture, and they are also a solid proof of the Chinese culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. At present, the relatively intact ancient city walls include Nanjing City Wall, Pingyao City Wall, Jingzhou City Wall and Xi'an City Wall, etc., which are our precious cultural properties and record many historical chapters that are difficult to disappear.
1. Nanjing City Wall.
Located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, the ancient city wall of Nanjing can be traced back to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. The city wall includes a four-layer defense system of the palace city, the imperial city, the capital city and the outer Guo city, and it is one of the longest, largest and best-preserved ancient city walls in the world. In China, its height and solidity are unparalleled, representing the peak of the construction of ancient city walls in China. In particular, Jubaomen (i.e., Zhonghua Gate), as the largest existing city gate, is also the world's most complete preserved, the most complex structure, the largest scale of the castle-like city gate, enjoy the reputation of "the world's first urn city".
In 2012, the Nanjing City Wall, as the core of the "Chinese Ming and Qing Dynasty City Walls" project, was selected as a candidate for China's World Cultural Heritage List.
Second, the city wall of Pingyao.
The ancient city of Pingyao is located in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, and it is one of the most well-preserved ancient cities in China with the highest historical value. The city walls of Pingyao are the most spectacular sight in this ancient city and the main reason for the many tourists. Built in the Ming Dynasty, the Pingyao city wall, about 12 meters high, the average width is 5 meters, the southeast corner is equipped with Wenchang Pavilion, Kuixing Tower, and the top of the east side of the city wall is built a little general. There are 72 watchtowers and 3,000 arrow stacks built on the city wall, symbolizing Confucius's 3,000** and 72 sages. The whole ancient city is shaped like a turtle, so it is called Turtle City. The horse face of the Pingyao city wall is uniquely designed, beautiful and has a complete defensive function, showing the characteristics of the northern Chinese city in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and carrying a profound history and culture.
Standing on the city wall, it is like going back to ancient times, overlooking the whole city, you can experience the depth and changes of history. Walking on the city wall of Pingyao, every ancient turret, arrow tower and trench passing by is telling the story of the offensive and defensive battles in the past, and it is filled with a strong historical atmosphere. The ancient temples, ancient houses and ancient streets within the city wall complement each other with the city wall, adding countless charms to the ancient city of Pingyao. In 1997, Pingyao's city walls, official offices, streets, houses and temples were listed as a world cultural heritage, becoming the only city wall site in China to receive this honor.
3. Jingzhou City Wall.
The ancient city wall of Jingzhou, located in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, was built during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. The overall outline of the city wall is an irregular oval, about 9 meters high, about 10 meters thick, and 113 km. The bottom of the city wall is made of large stones and glutinous rice mortar seals, which have a simple color and show the posture of the dragon dance. There are six gates on the city wall, each of which includes a tower, an arrow tower, and an urn city. In addition, there are three gates that were added in the course of the city's development. Since the last maintenance in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Jingzhou city wall has experienced nearly 380 years. The reason why the ancient city wall of Jingzhou is precious is that it has maintained a fully enclosed city wall intact so far, and it is a unique ancient city wall that has lasted for the longest time in Chinese history, experienced the most dynasties, and gradually developed and evolved from the earthen city.
Fourth, the city wall of Xi'an.
Located in the center of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the ancient city wall of Xi'an is shaped as a closed rectangle, with city towers and arrow towers on the city wall, and spectacular corner towers are built at each corner, and the overall structure is very grand. But it also has an obvious flaw, that is, it is too novel on the outside, and it does not have the antiquity of the ancient city wall. It should be noted here that the Xi'an city wall actually inherited the city wall design of the Ming Dynasty, but before the 80s of the 20th century, the Xi'an city wall suffered serious damage and was very different from its current appearance. The reason why the Xi'an city wall gives people a relatively new feeling is mainly because since 1983, the city of Xi'an has carried out a large-scale restoration project on the city wall, which was not basically completed until the end of 1990, thus forming the magnificent city wall that people see today.
**10,000 Fans Incentive Plan Based on the above, I personally think that the Nanjing City Wall in Jiangsu and the Pingyao City Wall in Shanxi are the most worth visiting. In terms of scale and building regulations, the Nanjing City Wall is undoubtedly the first choice, because most of the larger city walls that have been preserved to this day are works of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Nanjing, as the capital of the Ming Dynasty, is undoubtedly superior to other city walls in terms of architectural regulations. At the same time, the city wall of Nanjing is also relatively well preserved. From the perspective of preserving the original appearance of the ancient city and presenting the antiquity, the city walls of the ancient city of Pingyao are even more fascinating. The Pingyao city wall not only exists independently, its combination with the ancient city is more perfect, showing a higher integrity. Among all the existing ancient city walls in China, only the city wall of the ancient city of Pingyao has been successfully included in the list of world cultural heritage.