Chunqiu Fortress 春秋寨

About Chunqiu Fortress

The fortress follows the crest of the ridge for 505 metres from north to south and is only 30 to 50 metres wide, with water on three sides and hills on the fourth. More than 160 stone-built houses survive as walls; the roofs are all gone. Among the remains are a school and stables, which show that the site was a settlement where people lived for extended periods rather than a shelter used only in emergencies. The fortress is also recorded under the alternative names Qingyun Zhai and Luping Zhai, and local tradition explains the name Chunqiu, meaning Spring and Autumn, by the story that Guan Yu read the Spring and Autumn Annals here at night.

Nanzhang lies on routes between the Han River, Xiangyang, Jingzhou and the approaches to Sichuan, and 26 wars from the Spring and Autumn period onward are recorded as involving the county; in the late Qing, when unrest and banditry were severe, villagers again fell back on the fortresses for protection. Specialists place the beginnings of the Nanzhang fortresses in prehistory, their formation in the Chu-Han period and their peak in the Ming and Qing. In March 2013 the State Council listed the Nanzhang ancient mountain fortress group in the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units; from November 2020 the county has managed 246 fortresses and carried out rescue repairs on seven, and the Xiangyang Municipal Regulations on the Protection of Ancient Mountain Fortresses took effect on 1 March 2024. Chunqiu Zhai acts as the main visitor hub for nearby sites including Zhongyi Zhai, Manyun old village and Woniu Zhai.

What to look for

• The line of more than 160 roofless stone houses following the narrow ridge crest
• The remains of a school and stables inside the fortress, evidence of settled occupation
• The drop to water on three sides of the ridge, which explains the site's defensive value
• The village history museum at Luping village below the fortress

Location & getting there

Getting to Chunqiu Fortress

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 春秋寨 with 襄阳市 and 南漳县.