Hulishan Fort

Hulishan fort, close to Xiamen University, is a product of China's westernization movement. It was first built in 1894. The total area of the fort is more than 70000 square meters, and the area of the castle is more than 13000 square meters. It is divided into the battle flat area, the barracks area and the back mountain area. Inside, it is built with secret roads, parapets, ammunition depots, barracks, official hall, and lookout hall on the top of the mountain. The structure of the fort is half bunker type and half city wall type, which has the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Europe and China.

Hulishan Fort

Hulishan Fort (Hulishan Yitai) is located in the southeast promontory of Xiamen Island, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China. It is adjacent to Xiamen University Park and surrounded by the sea on three sides. The scenic spot is a national cultural relics protection unit and a national 4A scenic spot.

Hulishan fort, which was built in 1891 and completed in 1896, covers a total area of more than 70000 square meters and a castle area of 22000 square meters. It is divided into Zhanping District, Bingying district and Houshan district. The structure of the fort is half bunker type and half city wall type. It has European style and the architectural charm of Ming and Qing Dynasties in China. It is called "eight fortresses" in history Fujian door, Tiannan lock key ".

Hulishan fort has received millions of Chinese and foreign tourists every year. It has become the name card and window of Xiamen tourism city. It is an important tourist attraction, national defense education base and patriotism education base of Xiamen.

The scenic spot will be free of charge to the national medical workers (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) until December 31, 2020.

Turret structure

Hulishan Fort scenic spot in Xiamen is a national cultural relic protection unit. It is located in the southeast of Xiamen promontory, near Xiamen University. It is the product of China's westernization movement. It was first built in 1891 and completed in 1896. It is known as "the gateway of Fujian and the key of Tiannan" in history.

The fort was made of granite strips and rammed with Cinnamomum camphora juice, charcoal and glutinous rice mixed with sand. It was extremely strong. The whole building combines the European semi bunker style and the structural model of defense positions in Ming and Qing Dynasties of China to form a scientific and reasonable defense system.

The gates, walls, towers, moats, barracks and battery made of high-quality granite remain intact. They are precious historical sites for studying the military history of China's coastal defense, the history of Westernization Movement and the construction technology of ordnance industry.

Well preserved

The most famous one on Hulishan fort is a 28 Sheng (280 mm) Krupp cannon purchased from German Krupp Arsenal in 1893. It is well preserved and has an effective range of 16000 meters (the longest range is 19760 meters). It took 100000 taels of silver to buy it (including shipping and insurance premium). The Krupp cannon of Hulishan fort has been identified as "the oldest and largest 19th century coastal cannon on the existing site in the world", and won the Ginis best project award of Shanghai world.

The total area of the fort is more than 70000 square meters, and the area of the castle is more than 22000 square meters. It is divided into the battle flat area, the barracks area and the back mountain area. Inside, it is built with secret roads, parapets, ammunition depots, barracks, official hall, and peak observation hall. The structure of the fort is half bunker type and half city wall type, which has the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Europe and China.

geographical position

The location of the fort is very important. To the East, it can support the baishitou fort and block the enemy ships out of the Xiamen waterway in advance. To the south, it is opposite to the yuziwei fort on the other side of the sea. The cross fire can block the enemy ships in the Xiamen waterway. To the west, it can chase the enemy ships entering the Xiamen port and defend the Xiamen port. To the north, it can support the army camp. Therefore, it is called the Xiamen fort“ Tiannan lock key ".

The turret was equipped with the best equipment at that time, especially two Krupp cannons with 280 mm caliber, 360 degree angle of fire, 13.13 meters in length and 50 tons in weight. The main gun was 280 mm caliber, 87 tons in weight, 13.9 meters in length, 30 degrees in elevation, 7.36 meters in diameter, 4.6 meters in height and 5.29 meters in width. It could rotate 360 degrees, with an effective range of 19760 meters and fire 1-2 shells per minute It is the largest coastal gun in the world. Known as the "cannon king", Krupp cannon is "the oldest and largest 19th century coastal cannon still preserved in the original site in the world" and listed in the 2000 Guinness World Records.

In 1958, during the "iron and steel campaign", the West Fort cannons were demolished, and now there are only one East Fort cannons and two guard cannons.

Hulishan fort has deeply explored the historical and cultural connotation, and built two core brands of Krupp artillery and Hongyi artillery performance, and more than 30 supporting projects, including "welcoming ceremony" performance, "hand in hand counter" project, high simulation robot silicon Museum, 4D cinema, phantom imaging theater, sunken Japanese warship historical materials Museum, Guangxu Dynasty Zhupi Memorial, single wood forest, etc. These new, strange, special, flat, three-dimensional, static and dynamic cultural tourism products have completely changed the history of Hulishan Fort scenic spot, which used to have only one cannon, enriched the product structure and cultural connotation of the scenic spot, improved the tourism level of the scenic spot, and made Hulishan Fort become a "domestic first-class and international famous" cultural tourism spot, receiving more and more Chinese and foreign tourists every year With 1.7 million person times, Xiamen has become the name card and window of Xiamen as a tourist city. It is a main scenic spot integrating sightseeing and historical and cultural experience.

Hulishan fort has a unique geographical location. It faces Jinmen island in the East, Zhangzhou in the South and Gulangyu in the West. In the north, it is a prosperous city. It is only 20 minutes away from Gaoqi airport, 10 minutes away from ferry terminal and 15 minutes away from railway station. The traffic is very convenient.

Selected Poems

Seven Wonders: viewing the sea from Hulishan fort in Xiamen

Li Zuozhong

The ancient fort at the head of Huli mountain used to roar and open.

I'm glad to come here to see Changhai. I don't want to teach the enemy ships to come again!

Battery data

1、 Main data involved in Hulishan Fort

（1） Hulishan Fort data

1. Starting time: the 17th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1891 AD)

2. Completion time: 22nd year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty (1896 AD)

3. Battery size: East and west two turrets, table width 35 Zhang 8 feet 5 inches. It is 0.32 meters per foot (114.72 meters) and the width behind the platform is 22 zhang4 feet (71.68 meters).

4. Castle area: 13000 square meters.

5. Ancillary facilities: East and West gun support, underpass, parapet, battlements, battleground, ammunition depot, military room, military uniform room, official hall, wall, gate, stone ditch, peak hall, electric well, coast, etc.

6. Material cost: 86950 Liang silver (should be plain silver, not regular silver, the same below; grain silver: 1.096 regular silver, for reference).

（2） Main data of Krupp cannon in Hulishan Fort

1. No.: 6 free Krupp

2. Year of production:

28sheng main cannon: produced in 1893 (the 19th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty)

15sheng auxiliary Cannon: it was produced in 1881 (the 7th year of qingguangxu)

3. Full weight of Cannon: 87123kg (excluding defective parts)

4. Cannon volume: the total length of the cannon is 13.13 meters, the height is 4.6 meters, and the width is 5.29 meters.

5. Cannon caliber: 28 Sheng, that is 280 mm (15 Sheng, that is 150 mm)

6. Artillery rifling: 84

7. Barrel length (mm): 11200

8. Gun body weight: (including bolt, collimator and other accessories) 48110kg

9. Ammunition loading: 71.0-75.2kg

10. Diameter of gun wheel track: 7.36M

11. Angle of fire: 360 degrees

12. Loading angle of big shell (pill) and propellant: - 4 degrees

13. High and low firing angle of Cannon: 0-30 degrees

14. Gun firing rate: 1-2 shells per minute

15. Cannon firing capacity: more than 100 guns can be fired continuously.

16. Artillery range: 7030-19760m (shooting elevation: 5-30 degrees)

17. Liangpao (28sheng) factory price: 160000 taels of silver

18. Shipping and insurance (from Germany to Minjiang estuary): 40000 taels of silver (25% of the factory price)

19. Second handling fee (minjiangkou to Hulishan): 15079 Liang Silver

20. Existing shells: 28 raw warheads, 28 (including 14 armour piercing and 14 flowering bombs)

Construction background

（1） Event background

During the Opium War, Xiamen island was once captured by the British army, especially the Xiamen Port fortress represented by Shibi fort was destroyed by the British army in the anti British defense war in 1841. The problem of strengthening the southeast defense further aroused the attention of the government.

（2） Cultural background (the product of China's Westernization Movement)

In the late Qing Dynasty, the Westernization Movement rose, and the Westernization faction in the imperial court advocated learning from the advanced western science and technology, establishing the Navy, buying foreign guns and guns, so as to achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army.

（3） Geographical background

Xiamen's geographical location is very important. It is an important port for foreign trade along the southeast coast of China, as well as the north and south

Chinese PinYin : Hu Li Shan Pao Tai