Diaoyucheng (Hechuan)

Major National Historical And Cultural Site; Southern Song Mountain Fortress That Withstood Mongol Siege From 1243 To 1279 And Where The Great Khan Mongke Died In 1259 · Chongqing, Chongqing

Diaoyucheng is a walled hill above the meeting of three rivers in what is now Chongqing, and it is one of the few places where you can stand somewhere and reasonably say that the history of half the world turned here. The Song built it in 1243 as part of a network of mountain fortresses meant to bleed the Mongol advance, and unlike almost everywhere else the design worked: there was farmland inside the walls and water in the rock, so the garrison could feed itself, and the siege lasted thirty-six years. In 1259 the Great Khan Mongke came to take it personally and died beneath it - of wounds, of dysentery, of the heat, depending on which chronicle you believe. His death recalled Mongol armies from across Eurasia to elect a successor, including Hulagu's from the Levant, and the campaigns they abandoned never resumed on the same terms. Today it is a quiet green hill of walls, gates and a carved Buddha, forty minutes from a Chongqing suburb.

Diaoyu Mountain, Hechuan District, Chongqing, Chongqing, China

Open daily, generally around 8:30-17:30 with shorter winter hours and last entry well before closing. A modest ticket covers the fortress; THE INTERNAL SHUTTLE IS A SEPARATE SMALL CHARGE AND IS WORTH TAKING, because the site covers a large hill with roughly eight kilometres of wall. AVOID JULY AND AUGUST - Chongqing heat and humidity on an exposed hill with long walks and little shade is the main hazard here. Winter fog frequently hides the river confluence that is half the reason to climb.

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