Fengxiang site of the Great Wall
Beacon tower, also known as smoke pier or beacon tower, is the frontier post of ancient military observation and communication, and most of them are built on the top of mountains or at the corner of Sichuan. In ancient times, beacon towers were set up at borders, passes, roads, etc., and garrison guards were stationed to transmit military information, forming an independent and strict military defense system. If there is an enemy situation, it is called a bonfire at night, and it is called a bonfire by mixing wolf dung and simmering smoke during the day. The number of smoke, fire and fire depends on the number of incoming enemies, so that thousands of miles of defense can know the news of the enemy in a few hours.
Gaolan County, located on the north bank of the Yellow River, is an outer barrier of Jincheng in history. There are many beacon towers in the county town, criss-crossing and similar. At present, the earliest written record is the Ming Dynasty. Most of the beacon towers in Gaolan are built on high mountains, rammed with loess and covered with cloth, surrounded by defensive trenches. There are often fragments of daily necessities such as bowls and casseroles discarded by guards and watchmen near the beacon tower.
The beacon towers in Gaolan County are generally divided into the following roads. North Road starts from Yanchangbao, Lanzhou, Hebei Province, passes through Shaojiatang to Changchuan, and then divides into different roads, with Caijiahe, Lujiao Line and Hangmaota reaching Jingyuan as one road; Changchuan, Shuifu, Wang Jiagou, Shanzidun, Wu Dun, Lu Zheng and Yongtai all the way; Changchuan, Wenshan, Dongwan, Tulongchuan, Wangjiawan, Mashimian and Langjiagou all the way. In addition, along the Yellow River, it passes through Laoye Temple, Donglingzi, Jimazhuang, Xuejiadun and Zhaolou Goudun. Beigetadun and Mibulaodun go all the way to Yuzhong. There are more than 50 beacon towers in the county, most of which are Ming Dynasty buildings. Among them, there are 8 in Xicha town, 3 in Heishichuan town, 1 in Shidong town 10, 1 in Shuifu town 12, 8 in Zhonghe town, 5 in central town and 4 in Shichuan town.
The earliest beacon tower in Gaolan county is Mibroton beacon tower. Built in the Han Dynasty, it is located at the top of Dayincha, Guanting Village, Shichuan Town, about 7 kilometers northeast of Dongwan Village, Haxian Township, Yuzhong County, and about 5 kilometers northwest of Guanting Village. Beacon tower corresponds to Dongwan in Yuzhong County in the east, North Geta in Shichuan Town in the west, and Luguzigou Beacon Tower in Yuzhong County in the north. The beacon tower is rammed by loess, which is bucket-shaped, surrounded by barriers, rectangular, 40 meters long and 30 meters wide, with a residual height of 0.5-2 meters and a bottom width of 1.5 meters. The peak distance is10m from the northern end of the barrier, the pier height is10m, the top is 5m square, the bottom is10m square, and the tamping layer is about 0.15m thick.
At present, the most complete beacon towers are Gaolingzi beacon tower and Yandonggou beacon tower.
Gaolingzi beacon tower
It is located in the stinking Artemisia ditch of Shuifu Village in Shuifu Township, 7 kilometers northeast of Shuifu Village, 5 kilometers west of Xiaoquangou 1.5, and 3 kilometers south of Yemagou in Zhonghe Town. It was founded in the late Tang Dynasty. This beacon is connected to the beacon tower in Shuifu Township in Taipei, Yemagou beacon tower in the south, Caijiahe beacon tower in the east and Yandonggou beacon tower in the west. The beacon tower was built on the top of Gaolingzi Mountain and rammed with loess. Shaped like a bucket, 7 meters high, 3 meters square at the top and 10 meters square at the bottom. There are three flat circular steps around the wharf. The width of each platform is about 3 meters and the gradient difference is about 2.5 meters. The circumference of the first platform is about160m, the second platform is about193m, and the third platform is about 333m.
Gaolingzi beacon tower is the most spectacular one in the county. Today, the original appearance of the beacon tower still exists in the south, and the north has become a steep slope due to years. Now it is a county-level cultural relics protection unit.
Yandonggou Fengxiang
It is located on the high mountain in the northeast of Fengdeng Village (also known as Yanmingdonggou) in Zhonghe Town, with the distance of Moujiagou 1.5km in the southeast, 200m in the west and 236 stations 150m in the north. It was built in the Ming Dynasty. This wharf is connected with Yemagou in the east, Zhaolougou in the southeast and Dadungou in the southwest. Now it is a county-level cultural relics protection unit.
Yandonggou beacon tower is built on a high mountain, and there are two platforms nearby. The first-stage platform has a circumference of 200m and a width of 3m, which is 5m lower than that of the second-stage platform. The first stage platform spirals up to become the second stage platform. The perimeter of the station is 130m, with a wide south side and an area of about 70m2. This may be the residence of a former garrison soldier. The beacon tower is rammed by loess, which is bucket-shaped, with a height of10m, a top of 3m square, a bottom of about10m square, and a rammed layer thickness of about 0.15m.