Xiuying Gun Emplacement is situated in Xiuying Village, about 6 kilometers from Hai Xiu Road in the  suburbs of Haikou. It is one of the four most famous gun emplacements in ancient China
In 1890, the government of Qing Dynasty ordered that all the costal areas in China should be strictly defended in order to guard against the intrusion of the French army. Zhang Zhidong, the general governor of both Guangdong and Guangxi came to inspect the Kaikou in person and decided that the emplacement should be built. Then cannons were brought from German and the post was set up.
The emplacement was built on the hill 200 meters off the coast. Standing on the top of the hill, it overlooks the whole Qiongzhou Strait, guarding the sea route of the time. There are five cannons all together. Gongbei, Zhengdong, and Dingxi are the three major ones; the Zhengwus are the two smaller ones. These five cannons stand in a line from the east to the west, all pointing to the north, facing the sea.
There is a commanding post to the southeast and there are training sites and the soldiers' camps behind the emplacements. The post covers 30,000 square meters in total. It is considered one of the greatest military facilities in ancient Hainan, even in ancient China. |
