One of the few existing Ming Dynasty city walls in China, its length surpasses that of the ancient capital Xi'an

Apart from Longxing Temple and the Four Pagodas, the Zhengding city wall is one of the more visually appealing national treasures. The Zhengding ancient city wall is one of the few remaining Ming Dynasty city wall relics, ranking third in length among the existing Ming city walls, second only to Nanjing and Kaifeng, and longer than the famous Xi'an city wall. The Zhengding ancient city wall was established during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms period (352), when the former Yan general Murong Ke built a military fortress called 'Anle Fortress'. In the first year of Tang Baoying (762), Li Baochen, the military governor of Chengde, expanded the stone city into a 20-mile-long earth city to prevent the Huhao River from flooding the city. During the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties, the Zhengding city wall underwent varying degrees of repair and expansion. The Ming Dynasty Zhengding city wall was a prefecture-level regulation, with a grand scale and four city gates, forming a winding and intricate defense system that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, playing an important role in flood prevention and military defense. Today, the most visited by tourists is the South City Gate, also known as Changle Gate, which after restoration includes a complete moon city, urn city, and main city, forming a three-layer defense system. The moon city is on the outside, semi-encircling the urn city like a crescent moon. The urn city is a semi-circular small city with defensive facilities such as arrow towers and parapets. This winding and intricate defense system, coupled with the wide moat outside the city, hence the saying among the people, 'Iron-made Zhengding'. It is said that when the Japanese army invaded Zhengding, they could not break through from the city gate. When we went there, it was dusk. We climbed up the city wall, and under the setting sun, the entire ancient city was immersed in warmth. We walked along the city wall for a while, from dusk to night. After sunset, the city wall came alive as the lights came on, traversing ancient and modern times. From the city wall, you can see the four ancient towers of Zhengding. Among them, Hua Tower is the closest, located at the C position of the ancient city, while Chengling Tower, Lingxiao Tower, and Kaiyuan Temple Tower are on both sides, slightly farther away, but the unique shapes of the towers are easy to distinguish. The next day, we specifically went to the North City Gate, which is a bit far to walk. This is the un-restored Zhengding city wall, which looks more like a relic. As time hurriedly passed, only the ruins remained as a testament. 🏠Name | Zhengding City Wall 🎫Ticket | Free ⛳Address | Yan Zhao South Street, Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang City 🚗Transportation | Navigate to 'Zhengding'