Chongqing | The Ancient City Gate After "Bidding Farewell to the Battlefield"

In the past, I've seen many ancient city gates built along rivers🌊, strategically positioned for easy defense and obvious advantages.

But this city gate stands in the middle of the land.

The gate bears the inscription "Tongyuan Gate" in Chinese. Its main entrance features a double-arched passageway with a courtyard between the two arches. On either side of the passageway, remnants of the city wall stretch for about a hundred meters.

Outside the wall, peasant rebel armies once stormed the city with towering ladders, while atop the gate, defending soldiers drew their bows🏹 and hurled stones🪨. In a daze, one is transported back to that turbulent era—the relentless sounds of war drums and battle cries, the clash of blades, the storm of blood and violence, as if the battlefield were right before one's eyes.

Walking along the Mountain City Trail, I stumbled upon this ancient gate and was deeply moved by the sculptures depicting war scenes from the era of cold weapons.

Today, the gate tower of Tongyuan Gate no longer houses defending soldiers. Instead, under the lush trees🌳, citizens leisurely enjoy slow-paced lives. Together with the gate, the city walls, the towering buildings, and the bustling traffic, they form a vivid tableau of old Chongqing's urban life.

Location: Tongyuan Gate at the intersection of Heping Road and Jintang Street, Yuzhong District, Chongqing
Opening Hours: 24/7

Post by ALDEN CRAIG | Jun 14, 2025