Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty

--The Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty was built in 1307, the 11th year of Dade of the Yuan Dynasty. It is as famous as Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty (today's Beijing) and Shangdu of the Yuan Dynasty (today's Zhenglan Banner east of Inner Mongolia).

--It was built by yuanwuzong Haishan, the grandson of Kublai Khan, the emperor of Yuan Dynasty. Yuanzhongdu is one of the four capitals of Mongolia and Yuan Dynasty. It is composed of three cities: inner city, middle city and outer city.

--At present, the central hall, southwest turret and South Gate of Zhongdu site of Yuan Dynasty are available for tourists to visit. At the same time, the site museum project has been started, when visitors can visit the preserved cultural relics of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty

The Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty, located in mantouying Township, Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, was first built in 1307, the 11th year of Dade of the Yuan Dynasty. It is as famous as Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty (now Beijing) and Shangdu of the Yuan Dynasty (now the east of Zhenglan Banner, inner Mongolia).

The site of Zhongdu in Yuan Dynasty was built by the great grandson of Kublai Khan. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army set up Xinghe station in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty.

The origin of history

The central part of the Yuan Dynasty was composed of three cities, namely outer city, imperial city and palace city. The inner city is a rectangle with a perimeter of 2360 meters. Zhongcheng covers an area of about 800000 square meters outside the inner city. The palace buildings in Zhongdu of the Yuan Dynasty were designed according to the central axis. The main palace group centered on the No.1 base site is located in the north central part of the inner city. As the main hall, the base of No. 1 palace is located in the center of the inner city. The plane is in the shape of "Gong". On the surface, there are glass tiles, dripping water, tiles and other building components. The Han white jade head unearthed here is exquisitely carved, which can be regarded as the best stone carving of the Yuan Dynasty.

The excavation of the Zhongdu site of Yuan Dynasty provides a new example for the study of the capital structure of Yuan Dynasty in China, and has great academic value for the discussion of the rise and fall of Zhongdu of Yuan Dynasty and the comparative study of the four capitals of Mongolia and Yuan Dynasty (halahelin, Shangdu, Dadu, Zhongdu).

archaeological discovery

Recent archaeological investigation shows that there are both palace buildings and open space for yurts in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, which shows that the capital between the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (Beijing) and the grassland has the dual characteristics of grassland culture and Central Plains tradition.

According to Cao Kai, director of the Hebei Provincial Institute of cultural relics, the Institute has made a substantial breakthrough in the investigation of the city wall and the construction site in the archaeology of the Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty a few days ago, preliminarily proving the basic framework of the overall layout of the Zhongdu site of the Yuan Dynasty. The site of the No.1 palace and the South Gate of the palace city were further excavated, and the south gate and the west wall of the imperial city were newly discovered, especially the discovery of the west wall, which confirmed the statement of the three sets of city walls in Zhongdu of the Yuan Dynasty and made the overall layout of the city clearer.

According to the new archaeological results, the Department of cultural relics has completed the mapping of the present situation of the architectural relics in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, making its layout characteristics show. The palace cities in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, like those in the Central Plains, are symmetrically distributed through the axis of the South and north gates, and at the same time, there is still an open space where Mongolian traditional felt tents can be placed, which provides important information for the study of the evolution of the capital system in the Yuan Dynasty.

Ruins of the city wall

Yuanzhongdu is located in Zhangbei County, Hebei Province. It is on the main road from Beijing to Inner Mongolia. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was named together with Yuandadu (Beijing). It was built in 1307 (the 11th year of Dade) and 1358 (the 18th year of Zhizheng). The palace was burned down by the red scarf army, leaving only the remains of the city wall.

Since 1998, the Department of cultural relics has carried out exploration and excavation of this site and scientifically identified yuanzhongdu. During the excavation, a large number of precious cultural relics were unearthed, and the shape of the main architectural sites was verified. Among the unearthed cultural relics, the most striking ones are a Han white jade horn head (a kind of dragon in legend) and nine Taiyan head. These 10 heads are exquisitely carved and perfectly shaped, which are rare treasures in Yuan Dynasty. The discovery of Zhongdu site in Yuan Dynasty is also rated as one of the "ten new archaeological discoveries in China in 1999".

Zhongdu of Yuan Dynasty is one of the four capitals (Helin, Shangdu, Dadu, Zhongdu) of Mongolia and Yuan Dynasty. Judging from the existing sites, the central part of the Yuan Dynasty is divided into outer city, middle city, inner city, city wall and turret. Cultural relic experts believe that the history from the establishment to the burning of Zhongdu in the Yuan Dynasty can fully reflect the process of the Yuan Dynasty from prosperity to decline. The excavation of a large number of cultural relics is of great research value to the economy, military affairs, characters and customs of this era.

Renamed Dadu

In February of the ninth year of Zhiyuan (1272), Zhongdu was changed to Dadu. (the Turkic name is Hanbali, which means the capital of the emperor). The capital of the Yuan Dynasty includes the South City (the old city of jinzhongdu) and the North City (the new city of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty). The walls of the two cities are "only separated by one water". On the first day of the first month of the 11th year of the Yuan Dynasty (February 9, 1274), the new palace was completed. Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, held the first court meeting in Daming hall, the main hall of the Dadu Imperial Palace, to receive the congratulations from the crown prince, the kings, the officials and the envoys sent by the king of Korea.

In the first month of the 11th year of Dade, Chengzong collapsed. In May, Wuzong ascended the throne. In June, a new Zhongdu was built in wangwuchadu (now baichengzi, mantouying Township, Zhangbei County, Hebei Province).

cultural heritage

The results of the 2012 national top ten cultural heritage books selection were announced in Xianyang, the home city of the "Cultural Heritage Day", and the "yuanzhongdu" (1998-2003 excavation report) published by Hebei Provincial Institute of cultural relics was selected.

The selection and promotion of the top ten cultural heritage books in 2012 was officially launched after the release of relevant notices in China Heritage daily and China Heritage Information Network on December 12, 2012. As of May 31, 2013, a total of 181 kinds of books were recommended for evaluation.

On the basis of careful review of the sample books, the judges of the review committee, in line with the principle of fairness and justice, selected the winning books through real name voting.

social activities

Since 2001, the annual national top ten cultural heritage books selection activity has been held for 12 times, which has caused great repercussions in the academic circles, publishing circles and reading circles. The cultural, museum and Archaeology circles have highly praised this activity, and it has become a brand activity in the cultural, museum and Archaeology circles of China.

For the results of the 2012 national top ten cultural heritage books selection, please refer to the first edition of China Heritage daily on June 12, 2013: good books on the list - the results of the 2012 national top ten cultural heritage books selection are announced.

Address: 270 Township Road, Zhangbei County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province

Longitude: 114.62991468608

Latitude: 41.291126079478

Traffic information: yuanzhongdu site is located 20 kilometers north of Zhangbei County. You can drive or take a taxi from Zhangbei County.

Chinese PinYin : Yuan Zhong Dou Yi Zhi