Chengsijiazi City Site

Chengsijiazi City Site

Chengsijiazi City Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chengsijiazi City Site is located on the north bank of the Tao'er River, 4 kilometers south of Deshun Township, Taobei District, Baicheng City, Jilin Province. It was the ancient city of Liao's Tai Prefecture.

The city site is roughly square in shape, with walls constructed from rammed earth and wooden planking. The ancient city has a perimeter of 5,748 meters. Currently, except for the western wall, which was eroded by the Tao'er River leaving only 483 meters intact, the other three walls are well-preserved. The eastern wall is 1,340 meters long, the southern wall is 1,375 meters, and the northern wall is 1,150 meters. The walls currently stand 5–7 meters high, with a top width of 1.5–2 meters and a base width of approximately 20–27 meters. The city had four gates: the southern and northern gates were both situated in the middle sections of their respective walls, while the eastern and western gates were located in the middle of the southern sections of their respective walls. Each gate was equipped with a barbican, and each corner of the city had a watchtower. At irregular intervals along all four walls, there were slightly elevated battlements that rose above the wall tops.

Over several hundred years during the Liao, Jin, Yuan, and early Ming dynasties, this area served as the political, economic, cultural, and military center for hundreds of miles across western Jilin, western Northeast China, and eastern Inner Mongolia. A seal inscribed with “Seal of the Zhongshu Menxia” (the Secretariat-Chancellery), unearthed in 1981, holds significant physical and historical value for studying the history of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan periods over several centuries, providing evidence for research on the region’s connections with the Central Plains. There are also multiple temple ruins both inside and outside the city, where clay, bronze, and iron Buddha statues have been excavated. Additionally, tens of thousands of copper coins from the Tang and Song dynasties have been unearthed over the years. The ancient city of Chengsijiazi preserves precious physical evidence for later generations to study and appreciate the urban construction of the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan periods.

In May 2006, Chengsijiazi City Site was designated as part of the sixth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units