Zhangbi Ancient Castle sits at the southern end of the Jinzhong Basin, within Longfeng Town, Jiexiu City, on the northern foot of Mianshan Mountain, a branch of the Taihang Mountains. Covering an area of 100,000 square meters, it stands at an altitude of 1,012 metres.

Built on hilly terrain, the castle is backed by Mianshan Mountain to the south with two outward passages. Its west, north and east sides are surrounded by gullies. The layout forms an oblong stretching from east to west, with a prominent bulge on the northern section. Surrounded by steep ravines and perilous terrain, it was an ideal stronghold for military defence.

Inside the castle stand more than ten temples built successively from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, including the Khan Temple, the Temporary Shrine of Buddha Kongwang, the Hall of Three Bodhisattvas, the Erlang Temple, the Zhenwu Temple and the Guan Yu Temple. Dozens of courtyard residences with distinctive mountain dwelling styles of central Shanxi from the Ming and Qing dynasties are also preserved here. Beneath the castle lies a three-tiered underground tunnel network fully equipped with facilities for attack, defence, retreat, garrison and concealment.

A wealth of historical relics endows the castle with profound military significance. These include the stone base for military signal flagpole above the south gate tower, the Khan Temple housing the statue of Liu Wuzhou, the ancient military training ground in the southwest, gate towers for sentry defence, watchman’s quarters, and the sloped "horse trail paved with stone slabs" for troop movement.

There are numerous cultural relics above and below ground: the glazed stele, clay-coated iron statues, the double-dragon mill, the locust tree embracing a willow, Yaowan Gully, Cangfeng Bridge, and Jin Dynasty ancient tombs.

Boasting a long history, Zhangbi Ancient Castle integrates military defence, farming, trade, ethnic customs, religion, folk architecture and traditional culture. It is a rare surviving ancient military fortress in China featuring unique mountain village scenery and multi-layered cultural heritage. It was named one of China’s Top Ten Charming Towns by CCTV in 2005, and listed among the Sixth Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council in May 2006.

The castle is shaped like a flat rectangle, measuring 374 metres east to west and 244 metres north to south, with higher terrain in the south and lower ground in the north. An S-shaped main street paved with red sandstone runs 244 metres from north to south with a width of 4 metres, dividing the whole village neatly into eastern and western halves. Lining both sides are tall walls, shops and traditional houses, exuding a unique ancient charm.

According to stone inscriptions, the streets were originally paved with rubble. In the fifth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, villagers raised 1,800 taels of silver to repave the road with rectangular red stone slabs laid in an interlaced pattern: three longitudinal strips down the middle and transverse slabs on both sides. The entire street resembles a soaring dragon. The stone carving of a water-drawing mythical beast on the arch of the south gate serves as the raised dragon’s head, forming a vivid scene of "the dragon raising its head".

One hundred and eighty years on, this red-stone thoroughfare has endured centuries of rain erosion and trampling by humans and livestock. Its weathered red surface is steeped in antiquity and poetic beauty. It has become a landmark preserving the original look of Zhangbi, a testament to the vicissitudes of the ancient village, and a key cultural attraction of the scenic area.

6ed9730d087d4a30bb3b276a9a3753bf.jpg Ancient Military Tunnels of Zhangbi Ancient Castle

The tunnels are constructed in three vertical tiers. The top tier lies roughly 2 metres below the ground of the western yard inside the castle, fitted with observation openings and stacked secret communication apertures. The middle tier runs about 10 metres underground. Designed for relaying military orders and shielding commanders in the lower tier from disturbances above, it consists of meandering passages, flanking assault installations, inner bunkers, wall-mounted communication holes, a mid-level command post, evacuation routes, narrow choke points, wells, granaries and sentry posts. The deepest tier, accessible from the entrance in the courtyard of the Khan Temple, is around 25 metres below the surface and mainly contains the underground drainage system.

Most tunnel entrances are concealed inside private courtyards or cave dwellings, while the one at the Khan Temple was exclusively for military commanders. Holes left on the cave walls still mark where windlasses were installed to haul out soil during excavation.

Fifty metres west underground beneath the Khan Temple lies a shaft connecting the three tunnel tiers in the deepest level. This shaft is about 13 metres high, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. It functioned as a vital hub for ventilation, communication and unified troop deployment, playing a decisive role in commanding the whole battlefield.

A great number of Buddhist and Taoist buildings remain well preserved, concentrated near the north and south gates to form two temple clusters. The temples here were frequently built but seldom demolished. Many wealthy Shanxi merchants once lived in the village; they travelled extensively across the country to run businesses. After amassing fortunes, they returned home to build mansions and fund temple renovations, praying for the prosperity of their clans and earning reputations as benefactors to the locality.

The low demolition rate can also be attributed to limited space within the castle. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, village committees, production teams and schools moved into these vacant temples. Although statues, murals and stone carvings suffered damage, the main building structures remained largely intact.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, many villagers made their living as travelling merchants, with quite a few rising to become affluent local magnates. Like most Shanxi traders, they prioritised constructing courtyard residences after accumulating wealth. Several exquisite courtyard houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties still survive, mostly built as quadrangles or three-sided courtyards. Restricted by land shortage, these dwellings never reached the grand scale of the Qiao Family Compound or Wang Family Compound, yet they represented the finest craftsmanship available locally.

Traditional feng shui principles hold that terrain higher in the north and lower in the south brings good fortune. Zhangbi’s topography runs in the opposite direction: higher in the south and lower in the north. Auspicious energy flowing down from Mianshan Mountain would otherwise rush straight through the castle and exit from the north gate. Therefore, villagers devised ingenious planning solutions.

Cangfeng Bridge (Wind-Holding Bridge) spans a small river outside the south gate. The Stele Recording the Construction of Cangfeng Bridge, erected in the 29th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, records its construction purpose: to block malevolent energy, prevent floods, and channel good fortune and wealth into the castle.

Facing the south gate directly stands a Guan Yu Temple built with its main hall facing north. It acts as a screen wall to shield the gate from direct sight and ward off harmful qi from entering the fortress.

Cultural relics can be found everywhere inside and outside the castle. Broken pottery shards, hand-chiselled stone tools and polished pierced animal bones scatter across cliff faces on surrounding highlands such as Zaizigeda, Niantou and Yigugezui, familiar sights to local residents.

Three brick-carved tombs dating back to the Jin Dynasty were unearthed south of the village. Their unique structure and elaborate brick reliefs amaze both archaeologists and ordinary visitors. Even though the Jin Dynasty is vaguely remembered by most people mainly from the legend of Yue Fei, these tombs are widely recognised as precious heritage.

Most spectacular of all are the kilometres of labyrinthine tunnels winding underground, interconnected on every level and fully equipped for warfare, which astound military strategists. Astonishingly, no dating evidence or written records have ever been discovered to explain the origin of this massive project. It remains an unsolved mystery waiting for later generations to interpret — and this is precisely the allure of such cultural relics.

Furthermore, treasures including the clay-wrapped iron statues, the glazed stele and the double-dragon mill are one-of-a-kind legendary national cultural gems