Yongtai Village has been listed among the national cultural relics protection units [Photo/Cao Zhizheng/ Asianewsphoto.com]

The city's military importance faded in the late Qing Dynasty (1636—1912) and over hundreds of years, the once highly-populated ‘turtle city’ gradually turned into a small desolate village. After waves of migration out of the city, there are now only 76 households in the village, with a population of less than 400.