Taku forts
The Taku forts ( Chinese大沽 炮台; Pinyin Dàgū Pàotái , literally Taku batteries; also called Peiho forts, Chinese 白河 碉堡; Pinyin: Báihé Diāobǎo ) are forts at the mouth of the Hai He (Peiho) River , in the Tanggu district the city of Tianjin (Tientsin) , which is located in northeast China not far from Beijing. The forts are located approximately 60 km southeast of downtown Tianjin.
Most of the defenses were razed at the beginning of the 20th century . Two forts still exist today, one on the south bank and the other on the north bank of Hai He. The Taku Fort to the south has been restored since 1988 and opened to the public in June 1997.
history
The first fort was built between 1522 and 1527 during the Ming Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Jiajing . It should protect the immediate protection of Tianjin from foreign invaders like the Wokou . In 1816 the facility was expanded to include two forts at the mouth of the Hai He. This is how the Qing dynasty wanted to face an increasing threat from the west.
In 1841, during the first Opium War , the complex was significantly expanded again and finally included five large and 20 smaller forts. Ten years later, an extensive renovation was carried out under the military ruler Senggerinchin . Six large forts were erected: two on the southern part of the estuary named "Wēi" (威 power) and "Zhèn" (震 thunder or quake), three on the north side, “H „i” (海 sea), “Mén” (门 gate) “Gāo” (高 height), and a sixth, the “Shitoufeng” (石头 缝 stone border) fort, which was built on a narrow ridge on the northern coast. Each fort had three large and 20 small caliber cannons. The systems, between 10 and 15 m high, consisted of a structure made of wood and stone with a 60 cm thick external reinforcement made of concrete.
During the Second Opium War , the forts were captured twice by western troops, on May 20, 1858 by Admiral Michael Seymour and again in August 1860 after the reopening of hostilities.
Most of the forts were razed during the United eight states' invasion of China during the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) . On June 17, 1900, the forts were captured by allied troops after fierce fighting.
