Site of Bailinnaoer City

Site of Bailinnaoer City

The site of Bailinnaoer City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The site of Bailinnaoer City is located in Cheng??G Village, Bailinnao Township, Guyang County, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, also known as the ancient city of Huai Shuo Town of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was built during the Shiguang era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (424–428 AD) and abandoned in the third year of Yongxi (534 AD).

The city has an irregular pentagonal layout, with a perimeter of 4,667 meters, approximately 1,300 meters in length from east to west and 1,100 meters from north to south. The rammed earth walls stand 3–4 meters high at their highest remaining points, with a base width of about 10 meters. There is one gate each on the southern and northern sides, with battlements built along the outer walls and corner towers located at the four corners.

In the northwest corner of the city lies a square inner citadel, whose northwest wall aligns with the main city wall. The inner citadel measures 360 meters in length from north to south and 320 meters in width from east to west, with the eastern and southern walls remaining 1.5 meters high. The cultural layer within the ancient city is about 2 meters thick. The western half mainly contains the sites of official buildings and temples, while the northeastern part was a residential area. Three ancient wells have been discovered. Artifacts unearthed include lotus-patterned roof tiles, flat tiles, tubular tiles, decorative bricks, as well as clay sculptures, gray pottery jars with string patterns, and water-wave patterned pots.

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

Further Reading:

· Sixth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units