Huaishuo Town

Huaishuo Town

Huaishuo Town

About 35 kilometers northeast of Guyang County lies an ancient city with clearly visible walls in the shape of an irregular rectangle. The city wall is 4,667 meters in circumference, and the ancient city covers an area of 1.6 square kilometers. Within the city, the ruins of a Buddhist hall from the Northern Wei Dynasty — known as the “Earth Kiln” — were discovered. Rare clay Buddhist statues were unearthed here, along with copper Bodhisattva statues, stone mortars, pottery jars, and many other cultural relics from the Northern Wei period. According to archaeological experts, this ancient city is the site of Huaishuo Town, one of the six northern garrisons of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is the largest Northern Wei-era ancient city site discovered so far in western Inner Mongolia. It is now listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Huaishuo Town was first built during the Shiguang era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (424–428 AD), over 1,500 years ago, and was under the jurisdiction of Shuozhou at the time. To defend its capital Pingcheng (present-day Datong), the Northern Wei Dynasty established six key military garrisons in the north: Woye, Huaishuo, Wuchuan, Fumeng, Rouxuan, and Huaihuang. Among them, Huaishuo Town was regarded by historians as the “throat” of the Northern Wei or the foremost of the six garrisons, playing a significant role in politics, military affairs, and economic exchange. It served both to station troops to guard against invasions by enemies such as the Rouran, and to function as an agricultural production base. The important Gu Yang Pass (today’s Kunlun Valley in Baotou), a key route connecting the northern and southern Yin Mountains, was guarded by Huaishuo Town. There are three main reasons why Huaishuo Town was called the “foremost of the six garrisons”: First, Huaishuo had a large jurisdiction, governing five commanderies and thirteen counties, while no such records exist for the other five garrisons; second, the town commander of Huaishuo wielded great power — besides commanding the military of Huaishuo, he also controlled the forces of Woye and Wuchuan; third, Huaishuo produced many extraordinary figures — the father of Gao Yang, the founding emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty, started his career here, and after the establishment of Northern Qi, nearly all its emperors, ministers, and generals were from Huaishuo. Later, Hou Jing, also from Huaishuo, overthrew the Liang Dynasty and declared himself emperor.

After the establishment of Huaishuo Town by the Northern Wei, Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao and Emperor Xiaowen often personally led troops to launch offensives against the Rouran. The legendary story of Hua Mulan joining the army in place of her father is said to have taken place here, as evidenced by the famous Northern Wei Yuefu folk song “The Ballad of Mulan.” Aside from military campaigns, in 494 AD, the renowned geographer Li Daoyuan accompanied Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei on a seven-day inspection tour of Huaishuo Town.

In 523 AD, due to the gradual decline of the Northern Wei court, the massive “Rebellion of the Six Garrisons” broke out. After years of war, Huaishuo Town quickly became a desolate, uninhabited place. In 537 AD (the third year of the Yongxi era of the Northern Wei), Shuozhou was relocated inland, and Huaishuo Town was abandoned. From its establishment to its abandonment, Huaishuo Town existed for a full century. After more than 1,500 years, today we can only imagine the grandeur and scale of Huaishuo Town in its heyday through its ruins.

Huaishuo Town: Hongnijing Township is located about 55 kilometers northwest of Guyang County. It borders Xingshunxi to the southeast, Zhonghouqi to the west, and Damaoqi to the north. It stretches about 40 kilometers from east to west and about 20 kilometers from north to south, covering a total land area of 469 square kilometers. The total cultivated land area is 174,000 mu, including 12,000 mu of irrigated land, with nearly 140,000 mu under cultivation year-round. The terrain mainly consists of mountains, plains, and hills, with an average elevation of 1,400 meters, and features a continental climate. The annual average temperature is 4.3°C, the frost-free period ranges from 95 to 110 days, the annual sunshine duration is 3,130 hours, and the average annual precipitation is... Detailed information about Huaishuo Town++