Dingbian City Mass Grave

Dingbian City Mass Grave

The Dingbian City Mass Grave is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Mass Grave is located 150 meters west of the former site of Ming Dynasty’s Dingbian City (now Dingtang in Longchang Town), built in the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1819). The grave is made of stone, with an earthen mound two meters high and a circumference of 19 meters. In front of the grave stands a single-eave, flush-gable roof, four-pillar, three-arch memorial archway-style tombstone. There are four side tablets beside the main tablet, all intact except for the rightmost outer one which has been destroyed, while the others remain complete. The main tablet is 3.05 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, featuring a moon-beam style lintel with the horizontally inscribed characters “Clouds Rising and Rosy Clouds Surging” carved in intaglio. It includes two high-relief carvings: one depicting “Two Phoenixes Facing the Sun” and the other “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl.” The center of the main tablet vertically bears the intaglio inscription: “The Collective Tomb of the Remains of Men, Women, Old and Young from All Clans Who Perished in the Tragedy at Dingtoucheng.” On the left is inscribed: “The City Fell and Lives Were Lost on the First Day of the Second Lunar Month in the Year of Dingyou, Jiaqing,” and on the right: “An Auspicious Day During the Cold Food Festival in the Third Lunar Month of the Year of Jimao, Jiaqing.” The couplet on both sides reads: upper line – “For over twenty years we’ve swallowed wind and drunk dew, nearly forgetting the hatred of that calamity;” lower line – “For aeons to come incense will rise in offering, who would have thought we’d now rest in peace?” The two secondary tablets are each 2.55 meters high and 1.05 meters wide, with lintels inscribed “Singing to the Wind” and “Chanting to the Moon,” and cloud-pattern high-reliefs above the lintels. These tablets record the names of over 400 deceased. The couplets on these tablets read: upper line – “Tonight, where are the cicadas under the moon?” lower line – “A lonely grave accompanies the setting sun.” The two inner side tablets, each 2.25 meters high and 1 meter wide, bear seven elegiac verses for the deceased. The left outer side tablet contains the “Record of the Righteous Tomb” written by Ren Long, a candidate for the county magistrate of the Ministry of Rites, recounting the events surrounding the city’s fall in the second year of Jiaqing (1797).

Zhenfeng County — Dingbian City Mass Grave, accessible via Jianshe Road, approximately a 20-minute drive by car, no admission fee.

Longchang Town: Located in the western part of Zhenfeng County, covering an area of 115 square kilometers. It has a population of 30,000, with ethnic groups such as Buyi, Miao, and Hui accounting for 28.7%. The town administers 1 neighborhood committee and 22 village committees. Established as Longchang Township in 1949, it was divided in 1953 to form Longchang, Poliu, Sanhe, and Dingtang townships. In 1958, the townships were abolished and replaced by Longchang Commune. In 1984, it was restructured into Longchang Town along with Dingtang, Sanhe, and Poliu townships. In 1992, the three townships were merged into Longchang Town. The area produces tea. There are 30 primary and secondary schools. The town government is located in Longchang, 17 kilometers northwest of Mingu Town, in the northern part of Qiansuo Basin. With a population of nearly 2,000... More detailed information on Longchang Town++