Fort Zeelandia Introduction
Fangli was originally the site of the Dakas tribe, specifically the Fangli community of the Pengshan eight communities. In the third year of Xianfeng, the Quanzhou people built a street north of Fangli Village. At its peak, the salt warehouse produced 2,000 stones annually, and the dyeing industry was also very prosperous. The residents of Fangli found it inconvenient to engage in commercial activities, so the main street was paved with stone slabs, and houses were equipped with rain awnings, creating a bustling scene that was often referred to as a "heavenly street." In the fifth year of Xianfeng, local gentlemen Chen Zhiyong and Cai Xichou initiated a fundraising campaign to build a city. The walls of Fangli City surrounded an area of about three li, constructed of earth and stone, and featured four city gates facing east, west, south, and north. Surrounding the city were thorny bamboo plants, with a moat outside filled with sharp stakes, showcasing a significant development momentum. However, good times did not last long. In the second year of Guangxu, the city suffered from a calamity that led to its abandonment, and with the establishment of a railway station on Yuanli Street, commercial activities shifted, causing Fangli Street to gradually decline. Today, the city walls have completely disappeared, leaving only remnants of the large ditch in the north, which hints at the former grandeur of Fangli City. Although Fangli City has become a part of history, the village still retains a wealth of historical artifacts, such as Shuntian Temple, the Fangli Creek Yidu Stele, and the ancient Cai family residence, all of which are worth exploring for visitors.
