Weiyuan Fort

Weiyuan Fort (Chinese: 威远炮台) is a coastal-defense fort, now in ruins, in Humen, Dongguan, Guangdong, China. The fort was constructed in 1835 and was in use during the Opium Wars. 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.[1][2][3][4]

Weiyuan Fort in 2010

History
HMS Vulture passing the fort after the Expedition to Canton in 1847

Plans for Weiyuan Fort was drawn up in 1834 as part of efforts by the Qing government to fortify the Humen strait in the Pearl River Delta. 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 (Chinese: 横档月台), which was Weiyuan Fort. At the same time, Yong'an Fort (Chinese: 永安炮台) was built on the western end of an island in the strait and Gonggu Fort (Chinese: 巩固炮台) was constructed on the opposite bank in the foothills of Luwan Mountain (Chinese: 芦湾山).[5] Weiyuan Fort was captured in the 1841 Battle of the Bogue, 1847 Expedition to Canton, and 1856 Battle of the Bogue.

References

Notes
  1. "威远炮台". Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  2. "威远炮台-Weiyuan Fort". Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  3. "The Weiyuan Fort". Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  4. "东莞威远炮台". Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  5. Guo & Zhu (2012), p. 77.

Works cited
  • Guo 郭, Huaqing 华清; Zhu 朱, Xixue 西学 (2012). "清代的虎门防御体系与第一次鸦片战争" [HumeThe Qing dynasty Defence System at Humen and the First Opium War]. Journal of Guangzhou University (Social Science Edition) (in Chinese). 11 (12): 76–83.

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