Lin Zexu's smoke from Humen was an important turning point in Chinese history. Although the Humen Fort and the smoke of smoke against the British army are of great historical significance, few people know their exact location and current situation. Many people even mistakenly believe that a certain fort is the Humen Fort. This is not the case. If you go to Humen, it will be a trip to explore historic sites and learn about modern history.

Entering the gate of the former site of Lin Zexu Smoke Selling Pool at the entrance of Humen Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, the two pools on the left are the restored Humen Smoke Selling Pool, and the innermost are the Humen Lin Zexu Memorial Hall and Yuxu Ancient Temple. According to the historical and historical records of the Humen Lin Zexu Memorial Hall, the Humen Smoke-Selling Pool was two 46.5-square-meter pools. The beach at that time has now become land.

The common way to destroy opium in the Qing Dynasty was to "mix tobacco soil with tung oil and burn it". However, the remaining tobacco paste would penetrate into the soil and be dug up and smoked. Therefore, Lin Zexu innovatively used the "brine and lime immersion method" to completely destroy opium. Put brine in the smoke-selling pond on the beach, cut the tobacco soil and put it into the pond to soak it, and add lime. At high tide, seawater will boil when it inflows in, completely dissolving the opium. At low tide, the melted tobacco soil water will rush into the sea from the Pearl River. In 1839, Lin Zexu confiscated about 20,000 boxes of opium, 2.37 million kilograms, worth more than 8.4 million taels of silver. If he were sent to the capital for destruction, it would not only take time and effort, but also be afraid of theft, so he disposed of it in Humen.

Many people think that Weiyuan Fort is Humen Fort. In fact, Humen Fort is the collective name for the coastal defense fortresses of the Qing Dynasty. The battery groups are distributed in Shajiao Mountain, Dajiao Mountain, Wushan and Dahushan on both sides of the Pearl River, including Humen in Dongguan and Panyu in Guangzhou. Battery defense facilities in Nansha. The coastal defense battery group has 11 batteries with a total of more than 300 cannons and is divided into three lines of defense.

The first lane is the Shajiao Fort and the Tai Kok Fort on the other side; the second lane is the Zhenyuan, Jingyuan and Weiyuan Fort on the foot of Wu Mountain, the upper and lower rung forts on the upper and lower rung Islands in the Pearl River, and the consolidated fort at the foot of Luwan Mountain on the other side; the third lane is the Dahu Fort on Dahushan Island, as well as the Jiaomen and North and South Fortresses on the left and right sides. The largest existing fort sites are Shajiao Fort and Weiyuan Fort.

Historical materials from the Naval War Museum trace the history of Humen Fort. Humen, formerly known as Hutoumen, is the water area between Dahushan Island and Xiaohu Mountain Island in Guangzhou. The coastal defense camp was initially established and later moved to the "Hutoumen Mountain Front Village" behind Wushan Mountain of Weiyuan Fort. The Humen City Village Government Office, the commander of the Guangdong Navy, is located here.

After the Qing Dynasty implemented the lockdown policy, Guangzhou was the only foreign trade port, and the Humen Tax Port of Guangdong Customs was responsible for inspecting and piloting foreign ships and cargo. On the front side of the Naval War Museum is the ruins of Weiyuan Fort on the Pearl River. There are also Jingyuan Fort, Nanshan Fort, Gunpowder Bureau, Shetouwan Fort, Krupp Cannon, etc. on the mountain. Some scenic spots are located on the hill at the other end of the Humen Bridge. Most people only visit the river nearby. Forget about the most well-preserved Weiyuan Fort.

The former site of Weiyuan Battery is like a 360-meter-long open-air trench. On the left is the fortress defense wall and Qing military barracks, and on the right is a row of hidden towers facing the water of the Pearl River. The 26 hidden platforms extend in a crescent shape towards the Pearl River Estuary. The gun holes are made of granite, and the muzzle faces the water. The ammunition in the gun hole attracts attention. During the Guangxu period, the smooth-bore iron cannon was mounted on the front bore, and the brown gun body of 2.3 meters long was quite shocking.

The three round Mingtai forts above the Weiyuan Battery fortress look at the Pearl River and are very majestic. When the First Opium War broke out, the British army successively captured Shajiao Fort and Shangzhan Island's Fort, and then attacked Weiyuan Fort. Guangdong Navy Admiral Zhang Tianpei led his troops to fight bloody battles until his death. The fort was seriously damaged and was rebuilt and reinforced in 1885.

Walking into the Shajiao Battery on the other side of the Taiping Waterway, there are many bullet holes on the wall on the right side of the road, wrapped in cement that was restored later. You can see the sand and gravel built in that year at the cross section. This is part of the Battery.

After passing through the memorial graves of the soldiers who died in the anti-British war, we walked to the Piao Yan Wharf square at the forefront. The Krupp cannon with circular tracks was much larger than ordinary cannons and was particularly eye-catching. On the side are the Lin Zexu Monument and the Humen Anti-British Merit Cannon, and on the beach is the cigarette payment dock where Lin Zexu confiscated opium.

It seems that there is no way to go, but there is a hidden winding tunnel on the right side of the gate of the Littoral Terrace, and many gun holes lead to the batteries outside.

Walking into the round fort, you will find a grotto-like oval pit on the side of the mountain, where shells are stored. You can see the mouth of the Pearl River from the Battery Pool. Between the three battery towers, there are statues of Chen Liansheng and horse statues.

During the First Opium War, the British army first attacked Shajiao Battery. At that time, Chen Liansheng, the garrison general of the Qing army, and the garrison repelled the British army many times. In the end, they were outnumbered by more than 20 warships and more than 2000 people. His father and son died at the Shajiao Battery. His warhorse was transported to Hong Kong by the British army, but he died without food or drink. It was called the "Festival Horse".

Up the stairs, there are open-air batteries, battery walls, dark rooms, ammunition depots and Qing military barracks on the halfway slope of Shajiao Mountain. Further up are the ruins of the Diaoyu Mountain Battery, where Qing Dynasty cannons are preserved.

The corruption and incompetence of the Qing Dynasty led to the failure of the first Opium War, but the sale of cigarettes in Humen was definitely the most exciting battle in China's anti-drug history.

If you are more enthusiastic about exploring, you can go to the other bank of Humen to visit more scattered fort sites in the Humen Fort Group. If you understand the history of the Opium War and visit the ruins of Humen Fort, you will definitely bring the history in books to your eyes.

Tips: Humen Opium War relics and memorial sites are distributed in three places in Humen. The former site of Lin Zexu Smoke Selling Pond and Humen Lin Zexu Memorial Hall are at the entrance of Humen Town. The former site of Naval War Museum and Weiyuan Fort are at Haijingguan Road in Humen Town. The former site of Shajiao Fort is at the west of Battery Road in Shajiao Community, Humen Town. You can visit in this order. No tickets are required for the three memorial halls, but online reservations are required. The fishing platform battery is located in a now restricted area and is prohibited from tourists and do not try to enter.

Part of the content of this travel note comes from the book "Don't Work, Go to the Island: Blue Love Songs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" published by the author "Wanderer Lao Hu". Without permission, it is prohibited to publish this travel note text in the name of others (including and Not limited to screenshots, screenshots, conversion to video, etc.).