Diaoyu Fortress National Archaeological Site Park

Diaoyu Fortress National Archaeological Site Park
钓鱼城国家考古遗址公园

Address: Heyang town, Hechuandistrict, Chongqing city
Hours:8:30am-5pm
General admission:30 yuan ($4.64)
Tel:(+86-23)42822763

The Diaoyu Fortress, located in Hechuan district, Chongqing city, is the best preserved ancient military fortress in China. It is famous for its long resistance against the Mongols, and claiming the life of Mongke Khan (r. 1251-1259), the fourth Khagan of the Mongol Empire.

Diaoyu Mountain, at the location of the Diaoyu Fortress, reaches a relative height of 300 meters, with three rivers merging below it (the Jialing, the Fu and the Qu rivers). Historically, such geographical advantages made it extremely difficult to be captured.

The fort was first built between1239 and 1240.From 1243 to 1279, the army and people of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) fought more than 200 battles here to resist the Mongol invasion, the most powerful military force in the world at that time. They resisted the Mongols for 36 consecutive years, achieving a rare miracle in the history of ancient wars.

In 1259, Mongke Khan's sudden death during his siege of Diaoyu Fortress led to the complete withdrawal of his brothers’ Mongolian troops. Kublai Khan (Emperor Shizu of Yuan, the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368)retreated from besieging Ezhou, and the army of Hulagu (founder of the Ilkhanate)pulled out from Africa, halting the expansion of the Mongol princes across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Therefore, the fort is considered a rewriter of the medieval course of world history.

The battlefield site of the Diaoyu Fortress has been well preserved. The main landscape includes gates, walls, government offices, barracks, naval wharves, forts, boardwalks and other ancient military facilities. In addition, temples, ancestral halls, Buddha statues, ancient steles, and other cultural landscapes can also be seen here.

The construction of The Diaoyu Fortress National Archaeological Site Park began in 2019. The park has not yet been completed, but already has a certain degree of tourist function and is currently open to the public.