Weiyuan Fort () is a coastal-defense fort, now in ruins, in

Humen The Humen, also known as the Bocca Tigris or the Bogue, is a narrow strait in the Pearl River Delta that separates Shiziyang in the north and Lingdingyang in the south. It is located near Humen Town in China's Guangdong Province. It is the site ...

, Dongguan city,

Guangdong province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The fort was constructed in 1835 and was in use during the

Opium Wars The Opium Wars () were two conflicts waged between China and Western powers during the mid-19th century. The First Opium War was fought from 1839 to 1842 between China and Britain. It was triggered by the Chinese government's campaign to ...

. The fort is situated immediately under the Humen Bridge. There were 44 cannons there to defend against the British, 40 dark artillery and four open fort. It is 360 meters in length. Admission is free, with valid documents.

History

Plans for Weiyuan Fort was drawn up in 1834 as part of efforts by the

Qing government The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) was the last imperial dynasty of China. The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between the Han and Manchus with some positions als ...

to fortify the defense of Humen strait in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

. After the construction of four major forts along the straits, Lu Kun suggested that another fort be constructed in the style of a crossed platform (), which was Weiyuan Fort. At the same time, Yong'an Fort () was built on the western end of an island in the strait and Gonggu Fort () was constructed on the opposite bank in the foothills of Luwan Mountain (). Weiyuan Fort was captured in the 1841 Battle of the Bogue, 1847

Expedition to Canton The Expedition to Canton was a British punitive expedition that captured the forts along the Pearl River, Guangdong province, China, on 2–3 April 1847. Beginning at the Humen Strait (Bogue), the British captured the forts leading up to the city ...

, and 1856 Battle of the Bogue. During

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

's Constitutional Protection Military Government of Guangzhou, Gong Zhenzhou served as the commander-in-chief of the Humen Fortress. Soong Ching-ling at Humen Fort

History

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