How Huangsiqiao, a historic town with China’s oldest city walls, came to molder in the jungle of western Hunan
Huangsiqiao (黄丝桥) was destined for so much, yet has achieved so little.
Half an hour’s drive from the ancient town of Fenghuang, one of Hunan province’s biggest tourist traps, and a stone’s throw from the border of Guizhou province, the small town claims to have the oldest intact city walls in China, and once aimed to be a valued historic site on part with its famous neighbor.
But it now sits crumbling and unknown.
As our car finally arrived at this special town (having gotten lost twice on small byroads) on a sweltering July day last year, we are greeted by the 1,000-year-old city walls from the Tang dynasty (618–907) that tower dramatically over us, dating back to 686 CE. They are heavy, bluish blocks of hard stone. It’s a no-nonsense fort, crenellated and adorned by battlements, and crowned with ornamental towers by ensuing dynasties. These swiftly earned Huangsiqiao a position on Hunan’s provincial key cultural relics lists (guaranteeing it protection, promotion, and funds) as early as 1983.
Alex Colville is the former culture editor at The World of Chinese. Blown to China by the tides of curiosity, then marooned here by the squalls of Covid, Alex used to write for 1843, The Economist, and the Spectator from the confines of a cold London flat. When he’s not writing for TWOC, he can be found researching his bi-weekly column for SupChina from the confines of his freezing Beijing hutong.
