Xiuying Fort

Xiuying Fort (秀英炮台) is a well-preserved 19th-century coastal battery on the western edge of Haikou, built by the Qing government to guard the northern approaches to Hainan Island against French naval incursions. The fort dates to the 1880s and is one of the best-surviving examples of late Qing military architecture in south China.

The site covers several hectares and includes the original earth ramparts, cannon emplacements, ammunition storage tunnels, and officer's quarters. The guns — heavy artillery pieces on iron carriages — are still in place and in reasonable condition. The fort is not heavily visited by tourists and has a pleasantly undisturbed quality; you can walk the ramparts with the sea visible to the north and get a genuine sense of what the garrison faced.

things to do sight
A story
The fort was built in the 1880s specifically in response to French naval activity in the South China Sea during the Sino-French War. When French warships attacked in 1883, the garrison held — one of the few successful defences of a Chinese coastal position during the conflicts of that era. The cannon emplacements, still in place, were imported from Germany and represent the Qing dynasty's belated attempt to modernise its coastal defences.

Other places in Things to Do