There is also an ancient city in Stan Township, Jingtai County, Gansu Province. Judging from the appearance of the whole ancient city, it is extremely strange and turtle-shaped. This ancient city is called Yongtai Ancient City, which was built in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years. The circumference of the ancient city is about 1.7 km, the wall is 12 m high and the foundation is 6 m thick. As an ancient military fortress, it has made many arrangements in defensive operations. At that time, there were about 2000 soldiers in the city, including more than 500 cavalry, and some firearms were also equipped.
12 guns were distributed on the city wall, and a moat was built under the city wall, which was about 6 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep. There is also a beacon tower and a watchtower on the wall. The northernmost and southernmost beacon towers of the ancient city point to Lanzhou and the Great Wall respectively. In case of sudden war, the beacon tower stretching for tens of kilometers can quickly convey the enemy's situation to important institutions, so as to immediately mobilize to participate in the war. The unique geographical location of Yongtai ancient city makes its role not limited to this. It is also the throat fortress leading to Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet, which has promoted the political, diplomatic and commercial development in many areas.
In 1950s, about 1300 people lived here. At that time, China began to carry out large-scale construction. Trees in yongtai city were cut down for steelmaking, and even some temples built in Ming and Qing Dynasties were demolished. Today's Yongtai ancient city is located on the deserted Gobi Desert, surrounded by mountains, and looks like an empty city from a distance, but the scenery here is particularly unique.
Nowadays, the ecological environment here is becoming more and more serious, with more sandstorms and less rain, and the land is gradually desertified and salinized, which leads to the degradation of crops and is increasingly unsuitable for human habitation. So most of the residents here have moved away, leaving only a dozen families, about 100 people. Now this ancient city with a history of more than 400 years has become a place for many people to explore and visit, and even an excellent place to shoot film and television works. The film The Battle of Martha's Town starring Huang Hai Bo and Lin Chi-ling was shot here.
However, Yongtai ancient city is not a tourist attraction, and tourists can't find a hotel where they can stay and board. To solve this problem, they have to go to Jingtai County. An ancient city of Ming Dynasty in Gansu, a military fortress more than 400 years ago, is still inhabited by 100 people. I wonder what you think of Yongtai ancient city? Welcome to leave your footprints in the comments section.