Ancient Capital of a Thousand Years | The Magnificent Ancient City Wall of Datong

The ancient city wall of Datong in Shanxi Province is located in the center of Datong City and is square in shape. The existing city wall was built by the Ming Dynasty general Xu Da in the fifth year of the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty on the basis of the old city of the Han, Wei, Tang, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. It is one of the most complete ancient city wall buildings in China. The ancient city wall, moat, and ring park have now become a beautiful landscape of Datong, an ancient capital of a thousand years. The history of the ancient city wall of Datong can be traced back to the Northern Wei period, when it was the capital of the Tuoba clan and a large-scale city was built. In the early Ming Dynasty, Datong became a military stronghold due to its important military position. In 1372, General Xu Da expanded the city on the basis of the old city of the Northern Wei, Tang, Liao, and Jin dynasties, forming the existing square city. The ancient city of Datong has four gates: Heyang Gate in the east, Yongtai Gate in the south, Qingyuan Gate in the west, and Wuding Gate in the north, each with a barbican. Among them, the east city wall is 1,800 meters long, the barbican wall is 700 meters long, with a gate tower, an arrow tower, a moon tower, 12 watchtowers, two corner towers, and two military control platforms. Under the careful planning and strict supervision of Xu Da, the construction of Datong City reached the most exquisite level in history: there are four main streets and eight alleys in the city, and the streets are well-organized and accessible. Each main street has a building at the intersection, with Taiping Tower in the east, Drum Tower in the south, Bell Tower in the west, and Kuixing Tower in the north. The center of the city is four exquisite archways, called the Four Archways. Ancient City Wall of Datong