[2025 Dai County Attraction] Travel Guide for Daibian County Drum Tower (Updated May)

During the May Day holiday in Shanxi, popular attractions were bustling with crowds, but we chose a different path and visited the lesser-known yet historically significant ancient city of Daixian. Praised by architect Liang Sicheng as "an exceptionally well-planned city," it boasts three national-level cultural heritage sites: the Bianjing Tower, known as the "First Tower of the Great Wall"; the Ashoka Pagoda, hailed as "China's most beautiful stupa"; and the Daizhou Confucian Temple, the largest prefecture-level Confucian temple in northern China. The Bianjing Tower was first built in the seventh year of the Hongwu era (1374) during the early Ming Dynasty. After being destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in the twelfth year of the Chenghua era (1476) and has stood tall ever since. Its name, meaning "Pacifying the Borders and Bringing Peace to the People," reflects its original purpose as a military facility for monitoring enemies, drum signaling, and battle command. The tower stands 26.7 meters tall, with a total height of 40 meters, consisting of a massive brick-arched base and a three-story, four-eaved wooden structure with a hip-and-gable roof. Recognized by Great Wall experts as the "First Tower of the Great Wall," it is a remarkable architectural feat. The Ashoka Pagoda was originally constructed in the first year of the Renshou era (601) during the Sui Dynasty, initially named "Longxing" and built as a wooden pagoda. Destroyed in war, it was rebuilt as a brick pagoda in the twelfth year of the Zhiyuan era (1275) under Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty. Featuring a conical Tibetan Buddhist design, it is considered a masterpiece among Chinese Tibetan-style pagodas and is a rare example of a circular-based stupa in inland regions. Located within the current county government compound, visitors can explore it free of charge. The Daizhou Confucian Temple, dating back to the Tang Dynasty, is the largest surviving prefecture-level Confucian temple in northern China. Facing south, it includes the Loyalty and Righteousness Shrine and the Wenchang Pavilion to the east, and the Minglun Hall and the Chastity and Filial Piety Shrine to the west. The complex also features the Xue Zheng and Xun Dao offices flanking the Loyalty and Righteousness Shrine, forming an expansive Confucian architectural ensemble. The temple's octagonal caisson ceiling, intricate wood carvings, and bracket-set structures are rare treasures in Chinese architectural history.

👀My dears, today I must share with you the Bian Jing Tower in Dai County, Shanxi. 🤩It is located at the cross street in the center of Dai County, and it is super majestic. 😏 This building was a military facility in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was responsible for tasks such as lookout, drumming for communication, and commanding operations. It was like a guardian of the border and a support for soldiers and civilians. 👍It was first built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. After going through wind and rain, the main body still retains the style of the Ming Dynasty. The architectural structure is very distinctive, and the building is tall and large. 🤗 Moreover, the wooden plaque of Bian Jing Tower is also very charming. The huge plaque with "Sounds Heard All Around" is really awe-inspiring. 🧐Although it no longer has a military function, it is an important carrier of Dai County’s cultural heritage and historical memory. There is a clock tower not far from it, so you can stop by and take a look. 😘

Bianjing Tower in Dai County, Shanxi Province, is known as the largest wooden drum tower in China. The building has a unique structure and exquisite design, fully demonstrating the charm of ancient Chinese architectural art. Architectural features: Bianjing Building is a three-story, four-eaved, waist-wrapped flat-seat hip roof structure, with each floor being seven bays wide and five bays deep. There are corridors on the first, second and third floors, and the eaves adopt a hip roof design. The column grid is uniquely arranged, with three circles of column grids on the first floor: the inner circle is the columns that go straight to the third floor, up to 18 meters high and 55 centimeters in diameter; the middle circle is the columns that go straight to the second floor; the outer circle of columns is shorter, at 3.75 meters. Brick walls are used to protect the golden pillars and old eaves pillars on the first and second floors to stabilize the pillars. The building is seven bays wide and five bays deep, with corridors all around, and the structure is compact and rhythmic. The building is 26.7 meters high, and the upper floor has a double-eaved hip roof. There is a brothel on the second floor and a platform under the brothel on the third floor, which increases the layering and viewing experience of the building. There are brackets under the eaves of each floor, with a total of seven types of brackets, and the structure is unique. Characteristics of Ming Dynasty architecture and the inheritance and innovation of Bianjing Tower: In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the prosperous development of agriculture and handicraft economy, the rise of industrial and commercial towns, and the progress of science and technology and culture provided favorable conditions for the development of Ming Dynasty architecture. There are many Ming Dynasty relics in Shanxi, showing the characteristics of the era that are similar to the style of Song and Yuan Dynasties in the early period, conservative and rigorous in the middle period, and complicated in the late period. Bian Jing Tower has innovated the beam structure points based on the inheritance of the beam structure of the Yuan Dynasty. By simplifying things, many unnecessary complicated components and artistic processing were eliminated, making the structure more concise and clear. At the same time, due to the improvement of technical capabilities, pavilion-style buildings no longer use the fork column structure, but instead use through columns; brackets are often used at the joints between inner columns and beams, lintels, etc.; and cross beams are often placed between eaves columns and golden columns, protruding after intersecting with the eaves columns. The reason why the amount of dougong materials used in the Ming Dynasty dropped sharply: The structural relationship between the beam and purlin and the dougong changed: This change shook the dougong's independent load-bearing and irreplaceable position in the cantilevered eaves, reducing the demand for dougong materials. Timber shortage: During the Ming Dynasty, due to population growth and increased construction demand, timber resources became relatively scarce, which also prompted architects to reduce the use of wooden components such as dougong in their designs. The popularization of bricks in construction: With the popularization of building materials such as bricks and tiles, people began to use masonry structures to replace traditional wooden structures, which further reduced the demand for wooden components such as brackets.

Bianjing Tower, also known as Qiao Tower or Drum Tower, is located at the intersection of the streets in the county town of Dai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province. It stands at the highest point of the ancient city and is an important support point for the strategic Yanmen Pass of the Great Wall. It is a building of significant military value, used for watching and signaling enemies and commanding battles, and is known as the 'First Tower of the Great Wall'. Bianjing Tower faces south and consists of two parts: a tall brick arch gate base and a three-story, four-eaved wooden structure with a hipped roof. The central arch gate runs through from north to south. It has seven bays in width and five bays in depth, with double eaves and a hipped roof. Surrounding corridors on each floor form an overlapping column network layout, which is unique. The beam structure is a six-rafter house, with the surrounding corridors supported by four columns.

Transportation to Attractions 🚗 The transportation in Dai County is relatively convenient. If you are driving, you can reach it via highways such as the Erguang Expressway. If you choose public transportation, there are also shuttle buses from surrounding cities to Dai County. Attraction Addresses 📍 ✅ Yanmen Pass: Located in Yanmen Pass Scenic Area, Dai County, Xinzhou City ✅ Bianjing Tower: Central Dai County ✅ Yang Family Ancestral Hall: Luti Stream Village, Dai County ✅ Zhao Gao Temple: At the foot of Tiantai Mountain, Dai County ✅ Ayuwang Pagoda: Inside Yuanguo Temple, Ancient City of Dai County ✅ Dai County Confucian Temple: Inside Dai County Ticket Prices 💰 💕 Yanmen Pass: 90 RMB 💕 Bianjing Tower: 20 RMB 💕 Yang Family Ancestral Hall: 20 RMB 💕 Zhao Gao Temple: 40 RMB 💕 Ayuwang Pagoda: Free 💕 Dai County Confucian Temple: 30 RMB Must Experience 🎉 🔥 Climb Yanmen Pass to feel the weight and vicissitudes of history 😃 🔥 Admire the magnificent architecture and cityscape at Bianjing Tower 👀 🔥 Visit the Yang Family Ancestral Hall to learn about the heroic deeds of the Yang family 👍 🔥 Explore the marvelous architecture and natural scenery of Zhao Gao Temple 🌳 🔥 Visit Ayuwang Pagoda and feel its unique charm ✨ 🔥 Enter Dai County Confucian Temple to appreciate its profound cultural heritage 📖 🍜 Speaking of food, Dai County's stewed fish 🐟 is a must-try, tender and delicious, leaving an unforgettable taste. 🛍 In the streets and alleys of Dai County, you can also find many unique handicrafts full of local flavor 🎐 Precautions ❗ ⚠️ Yanmen Pass is at a high altitude with variable weather, remember to bring warm clothes and rain gear 🌂 ⚠️ Protect cultural relics when visiting ancient buildings, do not touch or carve on them 🙅‍ ⚠️ Some attractions have rugged mountain roads, pay attention to safety and wear comfortable shoes 👟 ⚠️ Learn about local customs in advance and respect local culture 🤗

|More ancient than Datong but so low-key that few people know about it|||. 🍀As the saying goes, "For underground cultural relics, go to Shaanxi; for above-ground cultural relics, go to Shanxi." Statistics show that more than 72% of the ancient buildings in China before the Yuan Dynasty are in Shanxi. Shanxi deserves the title of "Museum of Ancient Chinese Architectural Art". The names of ancient cities and ancient buildings such as Pingyao, Datong, Wang Family Courtyard, Imperial City Prime Minister’s Mansion, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda are well-known. But in fact, a province with a long history and great culture like Shanxi should never be remembered by just these few people. 💚In the northeast of Shanxi Province, there is an ancient county town with a history of more than 2,000 years, which is listed as a "National Historical and Cultural City". It is Dai County, Xinzhou City, formerly known as "Dai State", "Daizhou" and "Yanmen County". The entire Daizhou ancient city is very well preserved, and there are several ancient buildings that are worth seeing. You can spend a day strolling around. 1⃣Bianjing Building Tickets 20 Bianjing Tower, which means hope for peace and tranquility on the border, is located in the C position of the ancient county town. It was first built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. In ancient times, it was used to guard the border and fight against enemies and cooperate with Yanmen Pass. It is also called "Qiao Tower" and "Drum Tower". It is an ancient building with great military value. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, the Bianjing Tower was burned down by fire and was later rebuilt. After a hundred years of wind and rain, it has survived to this day. It is the largest existing wooden drum tower in my country and is as famous as the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. 2⃣Daizhou Confucian Temple Tickets 28 It has a longer history than Bianjing Tower. It was first built in the Tang Dynasty and was restored in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is currently the largest existing provincial Confucian temple in North China. 3⃣Ashoka Stupa The Ashoka Stupa was first built in the Sui Dynasty. It was originally a wooden pagoda. Over the past thousands of years, it has been burned down and rebuilt several times. It was rebuilt into a brick pagoda in the Yuan Dynasty. It is a typical conical Buddhist Tibetan pagoda. Together with the White Pagoda of Miaoying Temple in Beijing, it is the best early works of Lama still existing in the Central Plains. 4. Temple of Martial Arts At the back side of the Confucian Temple, the main hall is not open to the public, but the wooden painted archway in front of the door is particularly beautiful, so be sure to check it out. 5⃣ West Gate The entire Daizhou ancient city only retains this one city gate and a section of the ancient city wall.

| Experience the national historical and cultural city.🌟After leaving Yanmenguan and navigating to Daixian, you will enter the 18 bends of Yanmen dangerous road. As the name suggests, this section of the road has many bends, and the scenery is also very good. The shock of turning a bend and the green mountains appearing directly in front of you is indescribable. ♦The ancient city of Daizhou is the main support for Daixian as a national historical and cultural city. It is a famous border and military town in ancient China and a major commercial port for cultural exchanges between the north and south of ancient China. 'Three thousand miles north of Yinshan Mountain, the first state south of Zisai.' The master architect Liang Sicheng once said that the planning of the ancient city of Daizhou is very wonderful. The ancient city of Daixian is commonly known as the 'missing corner lying ox city'. The city has east, west, south, and north gates, namely Xihe Gate, Kangfu Gate, Yingxun Gate, and Zhenzhuo Gate. The plaques on the door lintels are engraved with 'Ping Fan Ji Dian', 'Che Fu Jin Yang', 'Hu Tuo Dai Rao', and 'Guang Wu Yun Tun'. There are three national protected cultural relics in the ancient city, namely the Border Jing Tower, the Ashoka Tower, and the Confucius Temple. The county town is not big, it is just a few minutes by car, and it is also very suitable for walking. ♦The Ashoka Tower is located in the county government compound, and you can drive in without registration. In fact, the Ashoka Tower is not its name but its type. Because the cylindrical spire tower was very popular during the reign of Ashoka, it was later called the Ashoka Tower. The Ashoka Tower in Daixian was built during the Sui Dynasty. After experiencing many wars and destructions, it was changed from wood to brick during the Yuan Dynasty. It is a relatively rare Tibetan-style covered bowl tower. When I first saw the tower, I just felt that it was really big, and my heart became extremely calm after walking around the tower three times. ♦The Border Jing Tower is the drum tower of Daixian, echoing Yanmenguan from a distance, and is praised by the Great Wall experts as the 'First Tower of the Great Wall'. There are two giant plaques on the tower, which are 'Sound Heard Four Directions' and 'Might Shakes Three Passes'. The floor tiles used on the ground are all engraved with the word 'official'. In fact, there is no need to climb up, you can directly feel its solemnity and majesty from below. The fact that such a small county has such a towering Border Jing Tower is enough to prove its importance in ancient geographical location. ♦Wenchang Temple, when waiting for the green light, I just saw it and took a quick snapshot. After visiting the ancient city of Daixian, I went to Xinzhou for dinner and chose Xiurong Xiaoguan. To be honest, it was really amazing. I ordered the signature Beijing-style shredded pork, mutton shao mai and knife-cut noodles, all of which were delicious and affordable, recommended!