Chiayi Old City

Originally constructed as a bamboo palisade in 1704 when the seat of Zhuluo County was relocated to what is now modern Chiayi City. It was rebuilt with rammed earth in 1723 following the Zhu Yigui Rebellion (朱一貴事件) and again in 1793 after the Lin Shuangwen Rebellion (林爽文事件), which also earned the county its present name in recognition of heroism of loyalist militias. Finally it was rebuilt in brick and stone in 1836. Severely damaged in the Yiwei War of 1895 and again in the great Chiayi earthquake of 1906, the surviving east gate tower was finally destroyed in a 1912 storm. No physical trace of the city walls remain but the ghostly imprint of three of the four cardinal gates can still be seen in the siting of traffic circles on the east side of town.