By Yuling Chen, EDITOR

There are 17 ancient gates in Chongqing. The best way to tour them is to begin with a footpath.

Chongqing ancient walls

According to the plan for the construction of pedestrian footpaths in 2018-19 in Chongqing’s main urban areas, Chongqing will implement the construction of the traditional-style footpath of relics of ancient gates in two phases. With the completion of the first section (Dingyuan Gate-Linjiang Gate section), you can learn about Chongqing’s history through ancient gates.

Dingyuan Gate-Jialing Gate

Reading Anecdotes of Ancient Gates While Wandering the Footpath

This 960-meter-long section starts from the entrance of Damei City Garden on Minsheng Road and ends at the intersection of Beiqu Road and Linjiang Road.

“Some footpaths used to be even narrower.” Li Jinyu, a resident living near the footpath, said that the footpath paved with stone slabs, after its improvement and road widening, facilitates the residents and attracts some visitors.

The construction of the first section mainly covers facility improvement, including wall battlements, greening and cliff pipeline renovation, gate signs, wall signs, ground guides, municipal works (public seats, garbage bins) and ancillary works.

Touring Visiting 17 Gates – Watching the Ruins and Listening To the Stories

Tourists can scan the QR code for the best experience. Following the WeChat Official Account of “Discover Chongqing Ancient Gate”, they can listen to the relevant stories while walking. This official account also offers them details of hot scenic spots near each gate, thus creating the best touring experience.

QR scanning

17 Chongqing Ancient Gates

Archaeologists said that the original gate of Chongqing’s oldest town center (Yuzhong District) was more than 8,860 meters in circumference. Today, there are 17 ancient gates with 56 sections, with a total length of 4,364 meters. The existing 4 gates including Tongyuan Gate, Dongshui Gate, Taiping Gate and Renhe Gate are kept well preserved, while the 3 gates covering Nanji Gate, Chuqi Gate and Qiansi Gate are decayed at varying degrees.

Dingyuan Gate

During the Jia Jing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566), there were only 7 gates in the outer city of Beijing, while there were 17 gates in Chongqing. Why is it so?

This can be attributed to the terrain of Chongqing. Because Chongqing is a mountain city with uneven height, its gates and walls are not at an equal height. Setting up more gates was to strengthen defense capability. At the same time, due to the complicated internal traffic caused by the high and low mountains, establishing a gate at the important access way is a must.

Most of the gates have doors, but the situation in Chongqing is different. Why are there so many closed gates in Chongqing? The closed gate refers to a gate with a tower but no doors, or a blocked gate, which cannot enter or exit. Of course, some gates are for the purpose of drainage, and there were no gates when building them.