On June 26, the ancient city wall of the Shuitingmen in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province collapsed on the north side of the west section. The city wall of Quzhou was initially built in the fourth year of the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty (621 AD), which dates back over 1400 years. The collapsed section of the city wall was part of the wall restored during the period in 1995.
The video and images circulated on the internet from mainland China on the 26th of June showed the collapse of the ancient city wall of Shuitingmen in Quzhou, Zhejiang. In the video, the ancient city wall suddenly collapsed, with bricks and tiles falling down, kicking up dust in the rain, seemingly causing some sparks by contacting the power lines.
The Quzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism in Zhejiang released a statement mentioning that due to continuous heavy rainfall, the collapse occurred on the north side of the west section of the Shuitingmen city wall at around 2:20 a.m. on the 26th. Fortunately, there were no casualties or people trapped on-site. The collapsed section was approximately 19 meters long and 7 meters high, which was part of the wall repaired in 1995.
According to the report by “Jimo News,” the city wall connecting the northern section of the ancient city gate has been shattered, and caution tape has been put up at the site.
Netizens mocked, “Seems like it was built with tofu.”
The local meteorological department forecasted on the 25th that from the evening to the night of the same day, there would be light to heavy showers or thunderstorms in Quzhou, with locally heavy rain and even heavy rain in some areas; on the 26th and 27th, there would be scattered showers or thunderstorms, with moderate to heavy rainfall in some places, and locally heavy rain.
Public records show that the construction of the city of Quzhou began in the third year of the Chuping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in 192 AD, which is over 1800 years ago. The city wall of Quzhou was initially built in the fourth year of the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty (621 AD) and was subsequently repaired in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. The existing city wall was mainly repaired in the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty (1640), with a total length of 1500 meters and a remaining city wall of 1000 meters, including six city gates, as well as a moat, and the ancient bell tower base, among other structures. In May 2006, the city wall of Quzhou was listed as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
The “Quzhou Place Names Chronicle” records that “there is a Juanshueting built on the water terrace outside the ancient city pier. The Qu River flows under the pavilion, so it is commonly known as Shuitingmen. Shuitingmen is also known as ‘Chaoling Gate’.”