Moated Fortress (or "artificial mountain")

China / Tianjin / Tanggu /
 military, fortress
 Upload a photo
These fortresses, with a rather traditional moat and motte design, were built in fairly large numbers in the late 60s as part of general Lin Biao's defensive plans for North China after the Sino-Soviet rift. They were intended to serve as bastions to hinder the advance of Soviet armored columns penetrating into the North China Plain, Beijing and Tianjin. The military doctrine involved is a little dubious, and it is not completely clear how they were intended to be used.
Nowadays, they pepper the landscape, and have been mostly abandoned or re-purposed as storage depots. Some apparently are being commercially redeveloped
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   39°3'34"N   117°32'23"E
This article was last modified 13 years ago