Ancient City of Guangning

Ancient City of Guangning

The Ancient City of Guangning is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The city of Guangning is located in Beizhen City, Liaoning Province. Also known as the Beizhen City, it was initially built during the Liao Dynasty. During the Jin and Yuan dynasties, it was established as the Guangning Prefecture, and in the Ming Dynasty, it became the Guangning Wei, serving as one of the Nine Border Garrisons—specifically, the Liaodong Garrison—guarded by a regional military commander. In the Qing Dynasty, it was designated as Guangning County, and in the early years of the Republic of China, it was renamed Beizhen.

The south wall and the south gate tower of the Guangning City (Beizhen City) built in the early Ming Dynasty are situated at what is now the location of the Beizhen Drum Tower. Later, the city expanded southward, and the Ming Dynasty south gate tower thus became the present-day drum tower. It has a brick-paved platform base, measuring 24 meters in length, 20 meters in width, and 8 meters in height. The platform is surrounded by crenellations. On the two-story pavilion atop the platform, eight large characters—“幽州重镇” (Important Town of Youzhou) and “冀北严疆” (Formidable Frontier of Northern Hebei)—were inscribed in the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929).

In front of the Drum Tower and north of Zhongjie (Central Street) in the town, there is a stone memorial archway built in the 8th year of the Wanli era (1580) under the decree of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty to commemorate the achievements of Li Chengliang, the Regional Commander of Liaodong. The archway is entirely constructed from dark purple sedimentary sandstone. It features a three-bay, four-pillar, five-story design with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, imitating wooden structure architecture. It stands 9.25 meters tall and 13.1 meters wide, complete with upturned eaves, through-beams, railings, and bracket sets, adorned with reliefs such as figures, flowers of the four seasons, carp leaping over the dragon gate, a high-ranking official in court, two dragons playing with a pearl, three rams ushering in prosperity, four dragons, five deer, sea horses facing the clouds, a rhinoceros gazing at the moon, and motifs symbolizing happiness, longevity, and nobility. The vertical inscription on the archway reads “世爵” (Hereditary Rank), while the horizontal plaque bears the words “天朝浩券” (Imperial Grand Decree) and “镇守辽东总兵官兼太子太保宁远伯李成梁” (Regional Commander of Liaodong, concurrently Crown Prince’s Guardian, Duke of Ningyuan, Li Chengliang). Below is inscribed “万历八年十月吉日立” (Erected on an Auspicious Day in October of the 8th Year of Wanli, 1580). In front of and behind the pillar bases are pairs of stone lions and drum-shaped supporting stones, with a stone beast on each outer side.

The Chongxing Temple was built during the Liao Dynasty. It was destroyed during the “Cultural Revolution” period and has been restored in recent years. To the south of the temple stand a pair of pagodas, facing each other from east to west, 42 meters apart. The eastern pagoda is 43.85 meters tall, and the western pagoda is 42.63 meters tall. Both are solid brick pagodas with octagonal bases and thirteen tiers of dense eaves. The base of each pagoda of the Chongxing Temple Twin Pagodas is 7 meters wide on each side, carved with various patterns. The lower part features carvings of lions, Atlas figures, and lotus petals. Above these is a lotus pedestal that supports the body of the pagoda. Each face of the pagoda body has arched niches housing seated Buddhas, with attendant statues on the outside, decorated with canopies, flying apsaras, and bronze mirrors. The twelve tiers of eaves gradually taper inward from bottom to top, with wind bells hanging from the corners of each tier, producing clear and pleasant sounds when swayed by the wind. The lotus pedestal, treasure vase, gilded finial pole, sacred jewel, and spire at the top of the Chongxing Temple Twin Pagodas are all well preserved. The middle section of the western pagoda also contains a small stone stele from the 28th year of the Wanli era (1600) titled “Record of the Renovation of the Chongxing Temple Pagoda.”

In May 2006, the Ancient City of Guangning, as an ancient architectural site from the Ming Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units