The Jiaoshan Ancient Fort is located at the foot of the east side of Jiaoshan Mountain, echoing the Xiangshan Fort on the south bank from afar. The Jiaoshan Fort is full of jagged rocks. There are eight gun forts rammed with lime soil, in a fan shape, facing the estuary of the Yangtze River. The entire fort is in the form of a hidden bunker. Each gun fort is attached with a small ammunition depot, and there is another large ammunition depot slightly west of the door outside the south end of the gun fort. The whole is made of a mixture of three soils and poured in layers, extremely solid. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the fort was destroyed by the Japanese army. The existing ruins are provincial-level cultural relic protection units. Standing in front of the ancient fort, it seems that the rumbling of cannons and earth-shattering shouts still reverberate in the ears, which is thought-provoking and awe-inspiring. The fort was built in 1840. At that time, in order to strengthen the defense of the Yangtze River, the Qing government decided to build the Jiaoshan Fort, forming a tripartite confrontation with the forts at Xiangshan and Dutian Temple in Jiangdu. In 1842, the British army launched the Yangtze River Campaign. British warships invaded the Yangtze River and were once resisted and severely hit by the defenders of the Jiaoshan Fort. Facing more than seventy enemy ships, the defenders of the Jiaoshan Fort did not show weakness and suddenly shelled. However, due to being outnumbered, the fort was lost. More than 1,500 soldiers and civilians guarding the island all sacrificed their lives. When the British army captured Zhenjiang, the soldiers and civilians carried out a desperate resistance. The heroic and tragic struggle attracted the attention of Engels on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In his article ‘The British New Expedition to China’, he warmly praised: ‘If these invaders encountered the same resistance everywhere, they would definitely not reach Nanjing.’ The Jiaoshan Anti-British Fort is an important site of China’s modern anti-imperialist struggle and also a witness to the heroic resistance of the people of Zhenjiang against foreign invaders.
Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:00 to 17:00.
