The scaling ladder is an important tool for attacking cities in ancient China. In the campaign of liberating Yuncheng, Shanxi, this scaling ladder played a unique role. In the spring of 1947, Yuncheng, with solid walls and wide and deep trenches, became an isolated city occupied by the KMT troops in southwest Shanxi. In December of that year, the battle of liberating Yuncheng was launched. The KMT army made the final resistance by taking advantage of the city walls. At 3:00 on December 28, the main force of the 2nd column set up a scaling ladder in the southwest corner of the city. The lower part of the ladder was equipped with wheels so that the ladder could be pushed directly to the foot of the city wall, then get pulled up and reach the top of the city wall. With the help of this ancient climbing equipment, the main force of the 2nd column successfully climbed into the city, and in cooperation with the 8th column which successfully carried out tunnel blasting at the old north gate, finally liberated Yuncheng.
In 1959, the former Nanjing Military Command collected it from Comrade Li Chengzhi in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, and transferred it to the Military Museum.