Hulishan Fortress

Hulishan Fortress is on the southern shore of Xiamen Island, and it was built in 1894 near the end of the Qing Dynasty period. It is recognized by the government as an important historical site to preserve. Its construction materials are interesting. In order to withstand cannon shots, its base is made of a mixture of camphor tree sap and liquid brown sugar, glutinous rice, clay and sand. This may sound tasty but strange, but Chinese had used mixtures of materials like this in other fortifications because it was cannon fire resistant. This seems to be a Chinese military innovation.

The fortress is composed of the barracks, a secret tunnel, a tower, a sentry platform, the ammunition depot, the trench, and the castle. The rectangular castle is made of granite and occupies an area of 13,000 square meters. It was a major Chinese fort and the main one of several in the area. There are two emplacements that were connected by a secret tunnel and places for soldiers to guard both exits.

The two emplacements both had huge cannons that were bought from the Krupp Company of Germany that was famous for its big cannons. The cannons were 13 meters long. Only one is left. There is a trench outside the fort.

From the fort, you can see two islands owned by Taiwan called Dadan and Erdan through telescopes. There are also ancient weapons including Qing Dynasty era cannon and swords on display.

Location: The Hulishan Fortress is on the coast within walking distance of Xiamen University and South Putuo Temple. If you go to the university, you can also see the remains of an ancient wall that once encircled the town of Xiamen.

How to Get to there?