Xingcheng ancient city

--Xingcheng ancient city is one of the top ten ancient cities in China. It is one of the four most complete ancient cities in Ming Dynasty and the only square Acropolis.

--The city wall has four gates in the southeast, northwest, and the center of the city has a bell and Drum Tower. A semicircle urn is built outside the gate, and a fort is still built at the four corners of the city wall to set up Hongyi cannons.

--It integrates the five landscapes of "city, spring, mountain, sea and island" and forms the unique style of northern coastal scenic spot.

Xingcheng ancient city

Xingcheng ancient city is one of the top ten ancient cities in China and one of the four best preserved ancient cities in Ming Dynasty. Located in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, Xingcheng old city center. Xingcheng ancient city is the only square Acropolis with four gates in the southeast and northwest.

There is a bell and Drum Tower in the center of the city, a semicircle urn is built outside the gate, and a fort is still built at the four corners of the city wall to set up Hongyi cannons. Xingcheng is endowed with unique tourism resources. In the area of 42 square kilometers, it integrates the five landscapes of "city, spring, mountain, sea and island", forming a unique style of northern coastal scenic spots. Millions of Chinese and foreign tourists come to visit each year.

Ancient city at a glance

ancient city

The ancient city was built in the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty (1428 AD). It was the Acropolis of Ningyuan. It was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty and renamed Ningyuan state city. Ningyuan ancient city, together with Xi'an ancient city, Jingzhou Ancient City (now Jiangling County) and Pingyao ancient city in Shanxi Province, are listed as four ancient cities that have been preserved in China so far. Ningyuan is a square city with a wall 8.8 meters high and a perimeter of 3200 meters. There are four gates in the city and a bell and Drum Tower in the middle of the city.

Xingcheng ancient city is the only square Acropolis with four gates in the southeast and northwest. A semicircle urn was built outside the gate, and a fort was still built at the four corners of the city wall to erect Hongyi cannons. Ningyuan ancient city is a national key cultural relics protection unit. There are some historic sites in the city, such as zushi square and Confucian Temple of Ming Dynasty. In Ming Dynasty, Ningyuan ancient city was an important frontier defense area. Yuan Chonghuan, the general of Ming Dynasty, stationed here and defeated the Qing army repeatedly. In January of the sixth year of Tianqi (1626 AD), Nurhachi, the emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, led 130000 soldiers to besiege Ningyuan city and was seriously injured and defeated. In May of the seventh year of the apocalypse, Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty again attacked Ningyuan city and defeated the city.

Xingcheng Confucian Temple

In the ancient city scenic area, there is Xingcheng Confucian temple, a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is the oldest Confucian temple preserved in the three northeast provinces, covering an area of 16800 square meters. There are Zhuangyuan gate, Zhuangyuan bridge, Dacheng hall, Analects wall, holy trace map, etc. in it, there are also plant wonders, such as ancient cypresses, trees and trees.

Other scenic spots

There are two houses in the city, namely, the stone house of Zu Zu, Town God's Temple, Ji Liao Dadu and Zhou Jia, and every scenic spot in the ancient city. They all tell the story of the ancient city's 500 years of history, customs and splendid culture.

Many shops in Xingcheng still keep gold lettered plaques with elegant and antique appearance. Xingcheng folk custom museum, Ningyuan post station and other historical and cultural museums also add tourism interest to the small city.

Night tour of the ancient city

Xingcheng city started to promote the ancient city lighting project in April 2017. The lighting project of the ancient city includes all the walls and buildings on the walls from the ancient yanhuimen urn to chunhemen urn, as well as the lighting of two ancestral archways and bell and drum towers in the scenic area of the ancient city. The ancient city lighting project was completed by August of that year. The lighting is controlled by the computer, which can automatically adjust the lighting and time according to the season, weather and other factors. In the daytime, you can enjoy the thrilling experience of the great victory of Ningjin. At night, the lighting of the ancient city will make you linger. The whole city is bathed in the golden light, like a dream city.

Architectural format

Xingcheng ancient city was built in the third year of Xuande in Ming Dynasty (1428 A.D.), which was the Acropolis of Ningyuan. It was rebuilt in Qing Dynasty, and was renamed Ningyuan city. Ningyuan ancient city, together with Xi'an ancient city, Jingzhou Ancient City (now Jiangling County) and Pingyao ancient city in Shanxi Province, are listed as four ancient cities that have been preserved in China so far.

The ancient city of Xingcheng is slightly square. There are gates in the center of the city on all sides and a semicircle urn outside. The base of the city wall is built with blue stones, the outer wall is built with large green bricks, the inner wall is built with huge stones, and the middle wall is filled with rammed loess. There are two-story pavilions and gallery style archery towers on each side of the city. Before, it was divided into outer city and inner city, and the outer city had fallen. The four corners of the fort were built high, protruding from the corner of the city to set up Hongyi cannons. During the battle of Ningyuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Nurhachi, the emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, was hit by Hongyi cannons and seriously injured. He died shortly after returning to Shengjing. A Kuixing tower was built in the southeast corner. The East, West, South and North streets of the city intersect. In the center of the ancient city, there is a magnificent bell and Drum Tower. It flies in the air, corresponding to the four archery towers, which is majestic and magnificent.

There are four gates of the ancient city: Chunhe in the East, Yanhui in the south, Yongning in the West and Weiyuan in the north. The bell and Drum Tower is in the middle street.

The drum tower was used for marching with drums in wartime and reporting dawn in peacetime.

The drum tower is 17.2 meters high and has three floors. The plane of the base is square, as high as the city wall. The cross hole leading to the four main streets is built under it. All of them are made of big green bricks. The arched passageways are built in the East, West, South and North. On the upper floor are two-story pavilions, and on the second floor are pictures of Party and state leaders and important foreign guests who have visited Xingcheng over the years. The interior is the exhibition hall of unearthed cultural relics in Xingcheng. On display are precious unearthed cultural relics such as bone needles, pottery, knives and coins from the "Hongshan Culture" period (about 5000-6000 years ago) and the spring and autumn and Warring States periods. And a giant cowhide drum. The diameter of the drum is 2.25 meters (the whole piece is made of cow hide), which is rare in China. Premier Li Peng visited Xingcheng for the second time in 1995. The third floor is the wax museum of the national hero General yuan Chonghuan. This wax figure is exquisitely carved by a skillful craftsman. The expression of the characters is rich, delicate and lifelike. It seems that it is announcing to people the determination of "I will live and die with this city (Ningyuan city)". Around the corridor style, Xieshan roll Peng, flying eaves in the air, zhulanghuadong, northwest open letter hole door, stone steps can be up and down. When you climb the drum tower, you can have a panoramic view of the ancient city.

Development history

The ancient city of Xingcheng is located in the middle of Liaoxi corridor, with hills in the west of Liaoning Province on its back and Bohai Sea in the south. It is an important traffic route from Liaodong to Central Plains. Liao Sheng Tong and eight years (AD 990) began known as Xingcheng. In the third year of Xuande (1428 AD), the Ming government set up weijiancheng here, which was named "Ningyuan". In the Ming Dynasty, the ancient city of Xingcheng was called Ningyuan Weicheng. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called Ningyuan Zhoucheng. In the third year of the Republic of China (1914), the name of Xingcheng was used again, which has been used up to now.

The ancient city of Xingcheng has always been a battleground for military strategists. In 1626 and 1627 of the Ming Dynasty, yuan Chonghuan, the Ming general, defeated Nurhachi and Huangtaiji's two attacks with less than 20000 troops, which is known as the "great victory of Ningyuan".

Historical campaign

At the end of Ming Dynasty, I experienced the great victory of Ningyuan and the battle of Ningjin.

Ningyuan was an important border town in the Ming Dynasty,

Yuan Chonghuan, a famous general, once stationed in the garrison, and later led his army to the capital. In the second year of emperor Chongzhen, he was arrested and jailed on December 1, 1629. Half a year later, he was sentenced to death in Xishi on August 16, 1630 (Gregorian calendar, September 22) for the charge of "yuan Chonghuan's instructions were ineffective, bullying the hermit, stealing the rice in the market, and beheading the commander in case of suspicion". The wrong killing of yuan Chonghuan made emperor Chongzhen destroy the Great Wall by himself, which indicated that the Ming Dynasty was dying soon.

Chengquanshan Island

Xingcheng is endowed with unique tourism resources. In the area of 42 square kilometers, it integrates the five major landscapes of "city, spring, mountain, sea and island" into a perfect combination. Millions of Chinese and foreign tourists come here every year. The ancient city of Ming Dynasty, the rising hot spring, the beautiful Shoushan mountain, the rippling sea, and juehua island in Taoyuan fairyland make people linger. The five landscapes complement each other, adding a little charm to this ancient and young city.

Xingcheng seashore national scenic spot is the only resort Integrating Mountain, sea, island, spring and city in China. Here are the beautiful seashore known as "the second Beidaihe", the majestic Shoushan mountain, the Chrysanthemum Island with magnificent sea view, the hot spring group with leisure and holiday atmosphere, and the well preserved ancient city of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Shoushan, located 2.5km southeast of the city, is named after its head like appearance. It is surrounded by beautiful water, with an elevation of more than 300 meters. There are also ancient beacon towers, temples and pavilions. Looking at the viewing Pavilion, you can have a panoramic view of Shanhaiguan. Beach - 8 km southeast of the city for the beach. The beach stretches for 14 kilometers, with fine sand beach, stable tide and clear waves. There are four beaches. The reef on the bank is abrupt, with shade blocking the sun. Pavilions, platforms, buildings and pavilions are hidden in it. It is witty and natural, with "three reef Range Rover" and other landscapes. Hot spring - there is a hot spring 2.5km southeast of the city. Tang Gao, a poet of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a poem: "the spring is like rotten soup, the ground is not burning, and the fuel gas is rising.". Liao and Jin dynasties have been well-known, so far the water temperature is still 70 degrees Celsius, contains a variety of chemical elements, can treat dozens of diseases, built more than 50 sanatoriums. Chrysanthemum Island - also known as juehua Island, 15 kilometers east of the city in the sea, beautiful mountains, towering ancient trees. There are Yanshan island and Yanshan island in the south, and Mopan Mountain in the north. Liao Dynasty is a holy land of Buddhism, so far there are still Longgong temple, Haiyun temple and other sites. There are tangweidong, Dabei Pavilion and dunliang city

Chinese PinYin : Xing Cheng Gu Cheng