Ancient City Walls in China. A Heritage Rediscovered

About a Chinese legacy with a once tremendous importance City walls in the Middle Kingdom were constructed symbols of power and identity-creating monuments that today provide direct access to Chinese cultural history. In the course of the country's long history, several thousand walls were erected, greatly differing in terms of importance, appearance, construction method, and function. The constructs recorded today range from ruins, via 150 city enclosures measuring more than a kilometer, up to the world-famous Great Wall. Following many years of decay, neglect and destruction in the 20th century, they were rediscovered only a few decades ago as unique cultural monuments. Consequently, extensive protection, renovation and reconstruction measures were launched for this national legacy. This volume presents a selection of 135 important cultural history monuments from all parts of China based on current and historic photographs.