aeeble

A-hou is the old name for Pingtung City. In 1836 (the 16th year of the Daoguang Emperor’s reign), local gentry, fearing raids by indigenous tribes that might endanger the townspeople, privately raised funds to build A-hou City. Because the city was not under official jurisdiction, no record of it appears in the Fengshan County Gazetteer; the only mention is on the gate’s lintel. Originally the city had four intact gates—east, south, west, and north—but neglect and road-widening during the Japanese era led to the demolition of most walls, leaving only the east gate opening. This surviving structure, now called “Chaoyang Gate,” stands beside Zhongshan Park and is listed as a national third-grade historic site. Chaoyang Gate is about 3.6 m tall. The upper half of the platform is built of foot-long bricks forming a protruding brow; the lower half is a symmetrical brick round-arch opening flanked by pebble-stone masonry. The lintel is granite, inscribed with “Chaoyang Gate.” Seventeen crenellated merlons of red brick crown the platform, probably added in 1976. The gate opening is built in three sections: front and rear sections of long bricks form round arches, with a rectangular space between them. The wall is of basalt granite; quoins are marked by exposed-brick piers, and the center is a red-brick round arch. The arch diameters come in three sizes, and sockets for door bars remain in the side walls. Though only a solitary gate remains, stripped of its former glory, its mottled bricks and ivy-covered base, set against the modern park, evoke a strong sense of antiquity.