The ancient city of

Jingzhou Jingzhou ( zh, s=, c=荆州, t=, p=Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the Seventh National Population Censu ...

, known as the Ancient Jiangling City, is located at Zhangjuzheng Street, Jingzhou District, Jingyang City. The east–west diameter of

ancient city is , the north–south diameter is 1.2 kilometers, with a total area of . The city wall has a perimeter of and a height of . There are six city gates, each of which has a tower. Bricks of the city wall are about thick. The inner wall is built with rammed earth, and the lower part is about wide. The city wall is high and in circumference. The wall is built with special blue bricks and lime glutinous rice slurry. The ancient city wall of

was built in the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

and the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

. It used to be the official ship dock and palace of Chu State, and later became the foundation of

Jiangling County Jiangling () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. History The county name derived from the old name of Jingzhou. Liang Dynasty Prince Xiao Yi (蕭繹 ...

, where the first city outline appeared. After more than 350 years, most of the existing ancient city walls were built in the late Ming and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties. The present ancient city is the remnants of the reconstruction of the Ming and

dynasties.

History

is where the culture of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

was born. In the era of Wei, Shu and Wu, this place was once a strategically important place for military strategists. Among the 120 chapters of ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', there are 72 chapters involving Jingzhou. The well-known stories such as " Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou" and "Guan Yu carelessly lost Jingzhou" happened in this city. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the ancient city of

has always been an important city where the kings set up their residences. During the Qin dynasty,

was set up here. During the Han dynasty, following the Qin system, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty divided the whole country into thirteen states, and

was one of them. At that time,

was already one of the top ten commercial cities in the country. After that, Emperor An in the late

Eastern Jin Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

dynasty, Emperor Qi He, Emperor Liang Yuan, Emperor Xuan of Later Liang in the Southern dynasty, King Hou Liang in the Sui dynasty, and King Nanping in the late Tang dynasty, etc. Eleven disputed princes successively declared the capital here for more than 100 years.

Statue of Guan Yu

Statue of Guan Yu is the first phase of the expansion and upgrading project of Jingzhou Ancient City Historical and Cultural Tourism Zone. The project is located on the southeast side of the ancient city of

, adjacent to the environmental moat in the northeast, with a planned land area of 228 mu. The sculpture together with the base is high and weighs more than 1,200 tons. There are more than 4,000 bronze pieces attached to the outside, with an average weight of per piece. In 2020, it was announced that the statue is to be relocated.

Guan Yu Temple

Jingzhou Guandi Temple is located inside the south gate of Jingzhou Ancient City. It was originally the foundation of

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

's mansion who guarded

for more than 10 years during the

period. Later, it was hereditary guarded by the descendants of his son Guan Ping. It is the earliest Guan Temple established in the country, and is listed as one of the four major Guan Gong memorial shrines in China, along with Guandi Temple in Jiezhou, Shanxi, Guanling in Dangyang, Hubei, and Guanlin in Luoyang, Henan.

References

{{Reflist Jingzhou History of Hubei Tourist attractions in Hubei