Baojia Tower in Baishu Village, Hengshan, Hunan

Baojia Tower, also known as the Arrow Tower, gave its name to the surrounding Jianlou Bay. Built in the 18th year of the Wanli era (1590) during the Ming Dynasty, this 422-year-old structure faces west with a three-bay frontage and single-depth layout. The two-story brick-and-stone building features a traditional hard hill roof covered with small blue tiles, occupying 110 square meters. Its 60cm-thick walls are constructed from blue bricks, with doors and windows framed in granite. The main western entrance stands 9.24 meters tall with an arched top. Preserving 32 arrow slits (57cm high × 17cm wide), six of these narrow openings bear inscribed bricks marked "Wanli Gengyin" (1590) in their upper left corners. Functioning as both Arrow Tower and Trench Tower, it served as a defensive facility for the Li family ancestors to protect their clan and property. As Hunan's earliest-dated and largest-preserved Ming-era arrow tower with verified historical records, it holds provincial-level cultural relic protection status.

Post by VictoriaMcDermott99 | Jun 8, 2025