Xuanhua Ancient City is located in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, north of The Toping Mountain, south of the Yanghe River, is embedded in the eastern section of the Yinshan Mountains in the mountain basin of a bright pearl, for the historical and cultural city of Hebei Province, known as the "first capital in western Beijing" reputation, is the existing ancient city in northern China in the long history, grand scale, important status of the famous city pool.
Xuanyuan Building, Xuanhua Ancient City. Photo by Chen Xiaodong
Xuanhua has a long history. During the Xia Shang Dynasty, it belonged to Jizhou and Youzhou successively, and in the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the northern border of the Yan Kingdom. The earliest use of the name "Xuanhua" was the Jin Dynasty, and later the administrative structure and name changed repeatedly, until the thirty-second year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty (1693) to designate the name "Xuanhua", so it is still used today. There are many cultural relics and monuments, and 554 immovable cultural relics points have been identified, including 6 state-level cultural relics protection units, namely Xuanhua Ancient City, Shi'en Temple Hall, Liao Dynasty Mural Tomb, Chahar Democratic Government Site, Berlin Temple, Buddha True Lynx Ni Pagoda; 8 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, namely Catholic Church, Wulongbi, Lihua Temple Pagoda, Auditorium of Zhili Provincial No. 16 Middle School, Guanzikou Ruins, Xiaobaiyang Tomb Group, Ming Great Wall, Xuanhuafu Railway Station; and 73 municipal and district-level cultural relics protection units.
The northwest corner tower of Xuanhua Ancient City. Photo by Chen Xiaodong
Xuanhua carefully built the "First Capital of Western Beijing" historical and cultural tourism brand. The strong cultural heritage has cultivated a unique folk custom: Wang Hewan shoulder drum, the classic drum beat "Phoenix Three Nods" is very folk art characteristics; Xuanhua paper-cutting, combining folk paper-cutting with Chinese freehand painting, breaks through the limitations of "cutting" and "paper"; dozens of traditional folk snacks such as white bee cake, sugar lala, oilcloth bags, etc., retain the unique taste bred by the ancient city of Xuanhua.
The rich history and rich resources of this ancient city are the dreams of many cities, and it is a huge treasure with a high gold content. (Compiled by reporter Cao Qinyu)