The City Wall of Jingzhou has a history of over 2,000 years. The enceinte was built during Qing and Han Dynasties (221 BC-220), and the wall itself was built during the Five Dynasties and Ten States Period (907-960). It had been damaged and repaired multiple times during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The one in existence now was built in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

The wall has three parts: inner earth city, middle brick city and outer water city. Measuring 30 feet high, the city wall has 1,567 battlements and 28 emplacements. The water city is the moat of the city wall and its first line of defense. Seven miles long, 33 yards wide and 13 feet deep, the moat connects Tai Lake in the west to the Grand Canal in the east. A boat can sail from here to Wuhan.

Among China's seven ancient city walls, the City Wall here is rated as the second best. Compared with other famous city walls such as that in Nanjing and Shanxi, the wall is the largest and best preserved.