Star anise City

Bajiao city is located on the platform where Yangqu River and Yangla River meet in the east of Ganjia grassland. It is an ancient castle left over from the Western Han Dynasty. It is the transportation hub of Gansu and Qinghai in ancient times. It is named after its eight corners. Now the bajiaocheng site is basically preserved. Inside the city wall are ordinary Tibetan villages. The outline of octagonal city is a hollow cross. There are moats and moats outside the city, as well as the outline. There is an outer city outside the south gate. Not far from Bajiao ancient city, there is a Zuohai temple in Ganjia township. It is the only Tibetan primitive religious temple in Gannan Prefecture, and it is also a holy land for the great circle of accomplishments.

Ganjia small ring road: Xiahe (Township Road) → 28km → Ganjia (Township Road) → 2km → baishiya Cave (Township Road) → 1km → baishiya Temple (Township Road) → 5km → bajiaocheng (Township Road) → 3km → Zuohai Temple (Township Road) → 20km → Xiahe

Star anise City

Bajiaocheng is located on the platform where the Yangqu River and the Yangla River meet in the east of ganjiatan, Xiahe County, Gansu Province. It is not only the hub of ancient Ganqing transportation, but also an important military town fiercely contested by the central governments of the past dynasties with the Tuyuhun, Tubo, Xixia and siruo Dynasties. Now the bajiaocheng site is basically preserved. In 1981, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Gansu Province.

brief introduction

Octagonal city is named for its eight corners. The outline of the city is a hollow cross. Bajiao city is 2193.4 meters long, 2.2 kilometers long, covering an area of 300 mu. There are moats and moats outside the city, as well as the outline. There is an outer city outside the south gate. From the perspective of architectural technology, the city was built before the Tang Dynasty, and the architectural form has broken through the square pattern, which is very unique. Although the city is not small, the distance between the corners of the city is within the effective range of the bow and crossbow, which can take care of each other, so it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In Bajiao City, a large number of cultural relics have been excavated, such as metal coins, copper cattle, square bricks, simple tiles and plate tiles of the Tang and Song dynasties. In addition, there are many terraced fields abandoned in ancient times on the plains, hills and terraces around Bajiao city. In some places, terraced fields are built all the way to the top of the mountain. In the past, the economic development and the density of people here can be seen. Bajiaocheng is located 35 kilometers north of Xiahe County, on the platform of Ganjia grassland.

Architectural history

As the name suggests, Bajiao city has eight corners, but it is actually a "cross" shape, 2193.4 meters long. The total length of the existing ruins outside the city is 1080 meters. The city covers an area of 200000 square meters. There is a 140 × 100 meter square to the east of the front of the outline. In the north of the square, there is a row of building debris around the outline. During the period, the Yangla river was introduced into the outline, Built with stone in modern times, the inner city has a circumference of 1960 meters, covering an area of 169600 square meters, and its orientation is due north. The foundation of the wall at the entrance of the south gate is 1.4m thick, 13.5m high and 5.2m wide at the top. In front of the gate, the two ends are relatively open. Along the outline, there is a sandy cliff of more than 10 meters. Under the cliff is the Yangqu River, which was the only channel of Bajiao city in those years. The South Gate urn covers an area of about 15.310 square meters, and the East, West and North triangles of the city wall have a large pier and abutment with an area of about 20 square meters. On the south wall of the East and West piers, there are half of the small roads. The east road is 3.6 meters and the west road is 2 meters wide, which can be used for one person to ride in and out of the city.

According to the investigation and survey of archaeological experts, the preliminary conclusion is that Bajiao city has a city system within the scope of 0.5 square kilometers. Taking the city as the north-south axis, it is a typical urban style in ancient China. The lower layer of the city wall often contains pieces of Neolithic pottery, and the upper layer also contains pieces of pottery from the Tang and Song dynasties. In addition to the Han Tombs on the northwest highland outside the city and the unearthed coins of the Wangmang era, the octagonal city was built in the Han Dynasty. Bajiao City, with its unique wall structure, shows us the style and features of the ancient garrison site. In the castle design, it breaks through the square and rectangular frame in the past and forms its own system. It is unique in the existing ancient cities in China.

Address: Ganjia Township, Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province (35km north of Xiahe County)

Longitude: 102.541039

Latitude: 35.400789

Tour time: 3-4 hours

Traffic information: take the shuttle bus to Xiahe first

1. There are five buses to Xiahe at 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 14:00 and 15:00 every day at Lanzhou South passenger station. It takes about 4 hours and the fare is 75 yuan

2. From 7:00 to 16:00 every day, half of the buses arrive at Xiahe every half an hour. It takes about one hour and the ticket price is about 15 yuan

3. There is a bus from Langmusi town to Xiahe at 14:00 every day, which takes about 4 hours and costs 70 yuan

Then charter a car from Xiahe to visit Ganjia grassland, baishiya cave and Zuohai temple. It's about 20 kilometers. The Charter fee is 150-200 yuan. If it's fast, you can go back and forth in half a day

Ticket information: 20 yuan per person

There is no ticket office here, but someone will jump out and tear up a ticket and sell it to you (about 20 yuan), and you can bargain with him

Opening hours: all day

Chinese PinYin : Ba Jiao Cheng