Travelers can stroll through ancient manors belonging to military leaders and temples honoring Confucius and Wenchang — the deity of literature — and stand atop the parapet-studded and canon-laden city wall. Qingyan, throughout various periods, was home to Taoists, Buddhists, Catholics and Protestants. Today, it hosts nine monasteries, eight temples, five pavilions and two ancestral halls that testify to its evolution since its initial construction in 1378.

The garrison continued to serve its military functions through the 20th century.

It was integral in extinguishing two major uprisings during the Ming Dynasty, in 1458 and 1622 and the Taiping Rebellion in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911); it contributed to the revolution against China's last emperor, which ended feudal rule in China; and, during the War of Liberation (1946-49), it served as a decoy target for the Red Army, who feigned an assault on Guiyang and covertly rerouted to Yunnan.