This magnificent gate tower is the scene of the “Stratagem of an Empty City” episode of the TV series Three Kingdoms. According to the literary work, when General Sima Yi with his army of 150,000 men is approaching and planning an attack at Xicheng, a State of Shu city with much grain storage, Zhuge Liang, the garrisoned Imperial Chancellor of the Shu has no generals around him, but merely a group of civilian officials and some 2,500 soldiers. In the face of imminent danger, Zhuge Liang come up with a risky ploy to hold off the approaching enemy. He orders all the gates to be opened while he sits on the viewing platform above the gates with two page boys flanking him. He puts on a calm and composed image by playing his guqin (the Chinese zither). When Sima Yi arrives and sees the scene, he suspects that Zhuge Liang has troops in ambush and so orders a retreat.