Living history book opens at Jingzhou city wall

The ancient city wall of Jingzhou in Hubei province stands like a living history book. More than 2,000 years old, it has quietly "grown taller" in virtually the same location through successive dynasties, with its position shifting by less than 50 meters.

The Exhibition Hall of the Archaeological Site of Jingzhou City Wall, which opened earlier this year, offers visitors a clearer and more intuitive view of the wall's historical evolution and construction techniques over the past millennium.

Inside, the city wall is presented almost as a cross-section of history. Layers of brick and rammed earth dating from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960) through the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties are stacked one upon another, recording the passage of time as clearly as tree rings.

"The city wall is the only city defense and flood-control system in southern China that has remained in continuous use for more than 1,000 years. This exhibition hall turns an archaeological site into vivid history that can be understood at a glance," says Tian Yong from Jingzhou Museum.

The exhibition hall was carefully built around the archaeological excavation site of Horse-face (mamian in pinyin) No 11. In 2019, during the restoration of the structure, archaeologists discovered an earlier brick wall beneath the Ming Dynasty wall. Since then, the archaeological team led by Tian has conducted three excavations at the site.

According to Tian, mamian is a specialized structural term for rectangular bastions projecting from a city wall. They reinforce the wall, enhancing its defensive capabilities. The Jingzhou City Wall stretches 11.28 kilometers, and has six ancient city gates and 25 horse-face-shaped bastions. Horse-face No 11 is located in the northern section of the wall.

Tian says archaeologists had never previously excavated deep into the wall out of concern for its structural integrity. Historical records show that the city wall existed during the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period, but there is no rigorous archaeological evidence.