The Perfect Southern Defense

Jingzhou city walls are located in Jingzhou District, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province. Jingzhou, relying on the dangers of Bashu and situated at the confluence of rivers and lakes, has always been a strategic military location contested by various forces throughout history. After the Qin dynasty conquered Chu, it became an important town where successive dynasties established royal residences. The city of Jingzhou was initially built during the Eastern Han dynasty as an earthen fortification. The brick city was first constructed in the Southern Song dynasty, dismantled at the beginning of the Yuan dynasty, rebuilt in the early Ming dynasty, and destroyed at the end of the Ming dynasty. The current city walls were reconstructed in 1646, the third year of the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing dynasty, based on the old foundations, and the walls, city gates, watchtowers, battlements, and other defensive structures are well-preserved. Jingzhou city walls feature barbicans, enemy towers, war houses, artillery platforms, soldier hiding tunnels, and secondary gates, forming a complete defense system. The city has always been easy to defend but difficult to attack, earning it the nickname 'Ironclad Jingzhou'.