When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
captured Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng admonished him that he
should 'built high walls, store abundant food supplies and take time
to be an Emperor,' so that he could fortify the city and unify the
other states. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang
followed his advice and began to enlarge the wall built initially
during the old Tang dynasty (618 -907), creating the modern Xian City
Wall. It's the most complete city wall that has survived in China,
as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems
in the world.
After the extension, the wall now stands 12 meters (40 feet) tall,
12-14 meters (40-46 feet) wide at the top and 15-18 meters (50-60
feet) thick at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers (8.5 miles) in
length with a deep moat surrounding it. Every 120 meters, there is
a rampart which extends out from the main wall. All together, there
are 98 ramparts on the wall, which were built to defend against the
enemy climbing up the wall. Each rampart has a sentry building, in
which the soldiers could protect the entire wall without exposing
themselves to the enemy. Besides, the distance between every two ramparts
is just within the range of an arrow shot from either side, so that
they could shoot the enemy, who wanted to attack the city, from the
side. On the outer side of the city wall, there are 5948 crenellations,
namely battlements. The soldiers can outlook and shoot at the enemy.
On the inner side, parapets were built to protect the soldiers from
falling off.
Since the ancient weapons did not have the power to break through
a wall and the only way for an enemy to enter the city was by attacking
the gate of the city wall. This is why complicated gate structures
were built within the wall. In Xian, the city wall includes four gates
and they are respectively named as Changle (meaning eternal joy) in
the east, Anding (harmony peace) in the west, Yongning (eternal peace)
in the south and Anyuan (forever harmony) in the north. The south
gate, Yongning, is the most beautifully decorated one. It is very
near to the Bell Tower, center of the city. Important greeting ceremonies
organized by the Provincial Government are usually held in the south
gate square.
Each city gate has three gate towers: Zhenglou, Jianlou and Zhalou.
The most outside is Zhalou, which stands away from the City Wall and
is opposite to Zhenglou. It was used to raise and lower the suspension
bridge. Jianlou with small windows in the front and flanks was used
as a defensive outpost. Zhenglou, in the inner, is the main entrance
to the city. The wall connects Jianlou and Zhenglou Towers. The area
between them within the wall was called 'Wong Cheng', in which the
soldiers stationed. From Wong Cheng, there are sloped horse passages
leading to the top of the city wall.
Initially, the wall was built with layers of dirt, with the base layer
including also lime and glutinous rice extract. Throughout the time
Xian City Wall has been restored three times. In 1568, Zhang Zhi (the
government officer of that period) was in charge to rebuild the wall
with bricks. In 1781, another officer, Bi Yuan, refitted the city
wall and the gate towers. More recently (since 1983) the Shaanxi Provincial
Government restored the city wall again. A circular park has been
built along the high wall and the deep moat. The thriving trees and
flowers decorate the classical Chinese architecture of the wall, adding
additional beauty to the city of Xian.
A nice suggestion for tourists: Try biking on the City Wall, you will
have an enjoyable and interesting experience.
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