Pinghai Sea Ancient City

It lies opposite to South China Sea, leaning on Red Sea Gulf in the east, neighboring Daya Gulf in the west. It has always been a significant town of coast defense and military affairs. It is also a transportation passage of imports and exports in the southern area of Huizhou City. In the years of the end of Yuan Dynasty or the beginning of Ming Dynasty, bandits are rampant making people live miserably. The first emperor of Ming Dynasty send Hudusi official to build rampart in Pinghai to resist the invaders. The rampart girths 520 zhang, and is as high as 1 zhang 8 chi (zhang is a unit of length, 1 zhang=1/3 meter and one zhang equals to ten chi, which is also a unit of length in China). There are 871 Zhidie and 4 city gates.

Pinghai Sea Ancient City has a history of 600 and more. Ancient streets in the form of the character of shi, which means ten, lead to city gates of Pinghai Sea Ancient City. The streets are integrated with the ancient city congenially. 

The ancient folk houses on the two sides of the streets are well reserved. These folk houses are all constructed in the form of a square and in a balanced symmetrical type. They are made of bricks in an integrated construction developed from the mansion type, dragon enclosing type and Chinese courtyard house.

There are seven wells in the ancient city, which are named wholly as Seven Stars Wells. It is said that they are made of stones in the way the planets such as the sun, the moon, the Venus, the Juptier, the Mercury, the Mars, etc. arrange. They are all very firm. The body of the wells is all around and the well platform is either round or square. The water quality of the Seven Stars Wells changes with the weather. It is light in raining season and salt in winter.

The gate tower is exquisite in architecture. On the top of every palace, on the spine wall, on the eave mouth, and in the hall, carvings are potteries are inlayed. The landscape painting is exquisitely carved and the personage’s expression is lifelike as if they can come out when you say hello to them. It is obviously that the architecture in the ancient time made all the efforts to create a system of guarding against theft to make the whole building more grand and impressive.

After 600 years of up and down, Pinghai Sea Ancient City still hold well the four gate towers, part of walls, intact ancient street of cross, most ancient local-style dwelling houses and a batch of ancient temples, sites of ancient culture remains and a large number of history relics. The gorgeous folk traditional art is still well preserved in the city. One can view and admire the numerous scenic spots and historical sites when traveling around Pinghai Sea Ancient City.