A city wall brick from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) featuring the words "Longyou county, a city brick built in the third year of Jiading (1210)". [Photo/qz828.com]

A city wall brick from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) engraved with the words "Longyou county, a city brick built in the third year of Jiading (1210)" is the oldest city wall brick with a chronological inscription ever found in Quzhou.

The city wall brick was found at a stall in 2013 by Xu Jianwen, a researcher of the Quzhou Cultural Center and was kept by him.

The oldest ancient city wall brick with a chronological inscription found in China is currently a brick from the second year of Xining (1069) on the ancient city wall in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province. The second oldest one is the ancient city wall brick from the fourth year of Xuanhe (1122) at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, said Xu.

The city wall brick found in Quzhou is expected to the third oldest one in the whole country according to current information, added Xu.

The city wall brick will be displayed at the Quzhou Exhibition Hall to prove the city's more than 1,800 years of history.