Древний город Чуну

The granite city of Chongwu stands on the southeast coast of Hui'an county as the most completely preserved Ming-dynasty coastal walled town in southern Fujian. Built in 1387 during the Hongwu reign under the supervision of imperial commander Zhou Dexing, the city was one of more than sixty fortifications constructed along the Fujian coast to defend against wokou raiders who plagued shipping and coastal settlements in the late fourteenth century. Today its walls still enclose a working community whose daily life carries on within one of the most dramatic military landscapes in southeast China.

The defining feature of Chongwu is the wall itself, a granite rampart roughly 2.5 kilometers in circumference that climbs across low hills to embrace the old town. Bastions, watchtowers at each corner, and four arched gates give the wall its rhythm, and visitors can walk significant stretches along the parapet, looking inward over tiled rooftops and outward across the Taiwan Strait. The stonework reveals both the scale of Ming imperial defense and the particular skill of Hui'an masons, whose craftsmanship remains visible in every fitted block. The wall is the oldest and most substantial single structure on this stretch of coast.

Within the walls, narrow lanes thread past small temples, ancestral halls, and traditional granite courtyard houses whose whitewashed walls and grey-tiled roofs have changed little over centuries. The community remains a living fishing town rather than a sealed museum, and visitors encounter the rhythms of everyday life, drying nets, morning markets, family shrines, and elderly residents going about their routines. The Hui'an region is also known for the distinctive traditional dress of its women, with colorful jackets, embroidered sleeves, silver bangles, and folded trousers still occasionally worn by older residents. Photography here rewards patience and respect for local custom.

Chongwu's location on the coast means that a walk along the seaward side of the wall offers broad views of fishing boats, oyster beds, and the low silhouettes of neighboring islands. The nearby beach, lined with sculptures and the workshops of local stone carvers, provides a quiet setting at sunset, while the working harbor on the north side gives a closer look at the fishing economy that has sustained the town for centuries. Foreign travelers will find Chongwu an easy day trip from downtown Quanzhou, with the approach passing through smaller Minnan villages and along sea walls. Allow at least a half day for the wall, lanes, and harbor, with sturdy shoes for uneven stone surfaces.