Dapeng Fortress (Dapeng Suocheng)

Cultural heritage

Dapeng Fortress, in Shenzhen's Dapeng area, was founded in 1394 in the Ming dynasty as a coastal-defence stronghold for southern China through the Ming and Qing, covering some 110,000 square metres with its layout, gates and wall foundations well preserved. It played a notable part in resisting pirates and Portuguese and British incursions, producing national heroes such as Lai Enjue; the Kowloon sea battle that opened the Opium War was fought and won with Dapeng's naval forces. Inside stands the General Zhenwei residence, granted by the Daoguang emperor. In 2001 the fortress was named a national key cultural-relic site, its Pengcheng village recognised as a famous historic village, and it is the origin of Shenzhen's nickname Pengcheng, the city of the great peng bird.

Visiting: Inside the fortress you can wander the flagstone lanes between general's residences, clan halls and old dwellings, feeling six centuries of coastal-defence history in the weathered walls and gate towers. Set against the high-rises of modern Shenzhen, it is a quiet old town where the roots of Pengcheng come back into view.