Site of the Ancient City of Bairen

Site of the Ancient City of Bairen

The site of the ancient city of Bairen is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ancient city of Bairen is located in Shuangbei Township in the western part of Longyao County. It was a historically significant city during the Spring and Autumn period, with a history of over 2,600 years, making it one of the rare ancient cities in North China.

The ancient city of Bairen was built from rammed earth, bordered by the Di River to the north and surrounded by hills on three sides. Nestled against mountains and close to water, it held a strategically important position and was highly valued by military strategists throughout various dynasties. The city wall extends a total length of 8,017 meters, covering an area of approximately 4 square kilometers. The eastern wall is 2,225 meters long, the western wall is 1,451 meters, the southern wall is 1,915 meters, and the northern wall is 2,426 meters. The average thickness is 15.1 meters, with the highest point reaching 9.15 meters. The rammed earth layers of the wall are about 10 centimeters thick, and every 60 centimeters, a horizontal wooden beam was laid. These beams are spaced between 30 to 60 centimeters apart, serving a function similar to modern-day steel reinforcement. The city originally had nine gates: one facing the water to the north, two to the south, and three on both the east and west sides. The walls undulate like a mountain range, and ascending the majestic ramparts of the ancient city offers sweeping views of the vast plains, with misty villages and wooded landscapes resembling a painted scroll, instantly refreshing the spirit and lifting the heart. Based on rough estimates of the existing above-ground sections, the volume of earthworks alone amounts to over 1.1 million cubic meters. Completing such a massive project in ancient times, when productivity was low and technology undeveloped, was an extraordinary feat.

During the Warring States period, Bairen City had developed into a relatively prosperous and bustling military stronghold of the northern Zhao State. Remains here include pottery kilns and a large number of pottery artifacts from the Shang and Zhou periods. The surrounding area has numerous ancient tombs from the Warring States and Han dynasties, from which many pottery jars, bronze mirrors, bronze belt hooks, bronze swords, iron swords, as well as gold-inlaid bronze belt hooks, jade bi discs, and agate ornaments from the Warring States period have been unearthed. In recent years, knife coins popular in the Warring States period have also been discovered at the Bairen City site, inscribed with the characters “Bai (same as Bairen) Ren.” According to expert research, only Handan and Bairen in the Zhao State minted copper coins at that time. This serves as an important indication of the city’s economic prosperity and commercial development during the Warring States period.

Address: Shuangbei Township, Longyao County

Shuangbei Township: Located in the western part of Longyao County, Hebei Province, Shuangbei Township covers a total area of 36 square kilometers, with 38,655 mu of arable land and a population of 28,400. It administers 17 administrative villages. It lies 3 kilometers west of the Beijing-Shenzhen Expressway, 6 kilometers from the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and National Highway 107, adjacent to the Qinan Highway that connects to the Beijing-Kowloon Railway to the north, and linked to the Longxi Line leading to Shanxi to the south. The transportation network extends in all directions, offering very convenient transport conditions. The township enjoys superior natural conditions, with an average annual temperature of 12.8°C, average annual precipitation of 524 millimeters, daily average sunlight of 7.6 hours, and a frost-free period of 195 days per year. It also hosts key cultural relics protection sites of Hebei Province… More detailed information on Shuangbei Township++

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units