Yi'an Fort (commonly known as Huxi City)

Yi'an Fort, or Huxi City as locals call it, is situated in Chengnei Village of Huxi She Ethnic Township, 34 kilometers away from the county seat. Together with Zhaojia City and Xincheng (the Mansion of Lan Tingzhen), it is collectively referred to as "Three Castles within Five Li of Huxi". It is a rare and best-preserved classic Minnan residential castle dating back to the Qing Dynasty nationwide.

Constructed in the 26th year of the Kangxi reign (1688), the fort was funded and built by Huang Xingzhen, who once held official posts including Judicial Commissioner of Guangxi, Administration Commissioner of Hunan and Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Designed for clan habitation and defense against bandit raids, it has stood for more than 300 years.

The castle takes the shape of an ancient lock in plan view. Its wall is laid with ashlar stones, stretching 1,200 meters in perimeter, 2.2 meters wide and 6.7 meters high. The rampart walkway atop the wall is 3.3 meters wide, lined with 365 crenellations — a number corresponding to the 365 days of a year. Parapets rammed with lime-sand-clay mixture run along the outer edge of the wall. Stone staircases leading up to the ramparts are built every 50 meters on the inner side, with 25 sets in total across the entire fort.

Watchtowers stand at each corner of the wall, measuring 3 meters in both depth and width. Four city gates are installed around the fort, each gateway 4 meters wide and 4 meters deep. Gate towers rise above the east, west and south gates, while smaller sentry towers occupy the southeast and southwest corners.

A moat, 10 meters wide and 10 meters deep, was dug between the south and west gates (now defunct).

Inside the fort, residential buildings are neatly arranged with clear alleyways and an integrated, orderly layout. At present, there remain 95 civilian dwellings, plus one major and one minor ancestral hall of the Huang Clan. A three-story, five-bay residence for Huang Xingzhen’s family, rammed entirely of lime-sand-clay earth, was destroyed by fire, leaving only its outer walls intact.

Three stone steles stand in the main ancestral hall, two of which feature calligraphy by Zha Sheng, a distinguished calligrapher of the early Qing Dynasty. A couplet hung in the hall reads: You presented ten strategies to pacify Taiwan — truly a meritorious deed;

You gained three audiences with the Emperor each day — what a glorious honor. It honors Huang Xingzhen’s outstanding achievement of submitting strategic proposals for the pacification of Taiwan.

As a precious cultural relic in the Minnan region, Yi'an Fort is listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level and recorded in The Great Dictionary of China’s Tourist Attractions.