Datong Ancient City

Shanxi Travel (48) — Datong Ancient City On the morning of the 23rd, waiting for another friend from Kunming to join, and in the afternoon, touring the ancient city. Datong "borders the Yellow River to the west, controls the desert to the north, connects Daoma and Zijing Pass to the east, and holds the strategic passes of Yanmen and Ningwu to the south." It has always been a contested military stronghold, historically known as the gateway to the capital, the shield of Sanjin, and the guarantee of the Central Plains. It is one of China's nine ancient capitals, with a history of over 1,600 years as a capital city. It was once a fortress during the Han dynasty, the capital of Northern Wei, the secondary capital of the Liao and Jin dynasties, and an important town during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has undergone a series of changes from a Qin-Han county town, Northern Wei capital, Liao and Jin secondary capital, to a Ming and Qing prefecture. Its status peaked during the Northern Wei period, serving as the political, economic, and cultural center of northern China at the time. Historically, it is known for its diverse integration of ancient capital, frontier, religion, folk customs, and ethnic cultures, with distinct regional characteristics. The ancient city dates back to the Qin and Han dynasties. In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming dynasty, the Datong city wall was first built. The ancient city is located in Pingcheng District of Datong City, extending north to Caochangcheng East-West Street, south to Nanguan East-West Street and Xinsheng East Street, east to Yuhe North-South Road, and west to Weidu Avenue, covering an area of about 327 hectares. Temples in Datong were first established during the Han dynasty, flourished during the Northern Wei, Liao, and Jin dynasties, and continued through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. During the Northern Wei period, Buddhism thrived with over a hundred temples and three thousand monks and nuns; the Liao and Jin dynasties revered Buddhism and built many grand temples; during the Yuan dynasty, five religions flourished, and it was a center of Buddhist and Taoist contention. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Datong still had over a hundred temples with more than two hundred monks and nuns. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, temple fairs, and Buddha’s birthday, the whole city was filled with incense smoke, with devotees offering incense and making offerings, creating a Buddhist kingdom atmosphere. Datong has always been a place of multi-ethnic coexistence and integration. During the Spring and Autumn period, it was inhabited by the Beidi; during the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao implemented "Hu clothing and cavalry archery" and defeated the Linhu and Loufan tribes in the north; during the Qin and Han dynasties, it was troubled by the Xiongnu, and the Han dynasty relocated many immigrants here; during the Western Jin, it was occupied by the Xianbei; during the Northern Wei, Datong was home to Han, Xianbei, Shanhu, Gaoche, Dingling, Wuhuan, and Tangut peoples; after the Sui and Tang dynasties, the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun were ceded to the Khitan; during the Ming dynasty, Datong was disturbed by the Mongols. The layout of Datong Ancient City has continued since the Ming and Qing dynasties: a main city enclosed by city walls, with three small cities outside the southeast, east, and north walls. The ancient city is said to have "four main streets, eight small alleys, and seventy-two continuous lanes": the streets are structured around a cross-shaped main street, with the east-west street as the horizontal axis and the north-south street as the vertical axis, forming the main road system; the four corners inside are intersected by small cross streets forming large "blocks," creating a secondary road system; within the blocks, small alleys intersect in a "T" shape, forming branch roads. Main buildings: Ancient city wall: In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, Xu Da was ordered to build a new city on the old city of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. The city is 1.8 kilometers long east to west, 1.82 kilometers long north to south, with a perimeter of 7.24 kilometers and an area of 3.28 square kilometers. There are four city gates, and on the city walls stand 72 gate towers, corner towers, horse gate towers, corner towers, and watchtowers. Uniform stone strips, stone slabs, and stone blocks were used. The wall body was built with rammed earth, with blue bricks on the outside. In the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, Datong Ancient City suffered severe damage when Dorgon ordered a "massacre" and cut down the city walls by five feet. Since 2008, the east and south city walls of the ancient city have been restored according to the Ming dynasty Datong city regulations. Datong residences are mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, primarily in the form of siheyuan (courtyard houses), including single, double, triple, and complex siheyuan. Most residences have finely carved gate towers, brick carvings, and various murals, some still preserving horse-tethering pillars, horse stones, and lamp pillars. Shanhua Temple, commonly known as the South Temple, was first built in the Tang dynasty and is located in the southwest corner of Datong city. Along the central axis, it faces south and is arranged in sequence, with the main buildings being the mountain gate, the Three Saints Hall, and the Mahavira Hall, flanked by the Guanyin Hall and the Dizang Hall. The layout is clear and staggered, making it the most complete surviving temple from the Liao and Jin periods in China. The halls preserve a large number of clay sculptures, murals, and inscriptions, with the clay sculptures regarded as "national treasures." Nine-Dragon Wall, originally a glazed screen wall in front of the Yuan dynasty prince’s mansion, is 8.00 meters high, 2.02 meters thick, and 45.50 meters long. The main scene features nine majestic flying dragons, with sun and moon patterns on both sides, made from 426 specially crafted multicolored glazed tiles, with an elegant and dignified style. Guan Di Temple, commonly known as the "Great Temple," was built in the Yuan dynasty and is the only Yuan dynasty building within Datong Ancient City. The mountain gate has three bays with a gable roof, flanked by tall stone flagpoles facing each other, towering and upright, inscribed with the couplet "Righteousness preserves the Han dynasty’s tripartite cauldron, ambition lies in the Spring and Autumn Annals." On the brick walls on both sides of the mountain gate are the four large characters "Loyalty, Righteousness, Benevolence, Courage." Drum Tower, located at the intersection of Yongtai Street and Drum Tower East-West Street, was built in the Ming dynasty and repaired several times during the Qing dynasty. It has three eaves, a cross-gable hip roof, a nearly square floor plan, three bays wide and deep. The base is made of bluestone with four corners, with a cross-shaped central gate allowing passage for vehicles and pedestrians. There is a wooden ladder on the northwest wall for climbing. The second and third floors are pavilions with doors and windows all around, surrounded by corridors with railings, offering panoramic views of the city. Compared to Pingyao, Datong is grander, being a capital city, prefecture, and a major northern stronghold. Its scale is incomparable to Pingyao, but Pingyao is a complete ancient city. Dinner was at the famous Fenglin Pavilion, enjoying a light drink and slight intoxication, truly living up to its reputation. After dinner, toured the ancient city.