Site of Bayan Ula City

Site of Bayan Ula City

The Site of Bayan Ula City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Site of Bayan Ula City is located to the west of Bayan Ula Township in Huasu Sumu, approximately 110 kilometers southwest of Bayan Tuohai Town, the seat of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The eastern wall of the ancient city is adjacent to a dried-up river branch, and it is one of the ancient cities of the Mongol Empire.

The ancient city has a rectangular layout, covering an area of about 200,000 square meters. The city walls were built with rammed earth, with remnants about 1.5 meters high. There is a city gate in the middle of each of the four sides, each about 18 meters wide, without barbicans. The outer moats around the city walls are not clearly visible. Inside the eastern gate, there is a brick-paved road over 200 meters long and 6 meters wide. There are corner tower sites at the four corners, with remnants about 2.5 meters high.

The layout of structures within the city follows a central axis from the southern gate to the northern gate, with major buildings aligned along this axis. The largest building is in the center, slightly rectangular in shape, about 32 meters long from north to south, about 40 meters wide from east to west, and about 3 meters high. In front of it, there is a staircase about 10 meters long and 20 meters wide. The central building site is directly opposite the largest central building, sharing the same central axis, with a bluestone-paved pathway between them. There is also a pathway from the central building to the eastern gate.

The relics found within the city mainly consist of bricks and tiles. The bricks are bluish-gray in color, with some featuring rope patterns. They measure 34–35 cm in length, 17 cm in width, and 4.5–5.5 cm in thickness. There are many types of tiles, all with fabric patterns on the back. Most are bluish-gray flat tiles and cylindrical tiles. The body of the glazed tiles is red, with glaze colors divided into yellow and green. There are tile drips, tile ends, ridge ornaments, cylindrical tiles, and semi-glazed flat tiles, among which dragon-patterned designs are the most distinctive.

According to multiple investigations, the ancient city of Bayan Ula is the site of the so-called "Öljeyitü's Ordu" during the Mongol Empire period, which was the former city of Öljeyitü, the youngest brother of Genghis Khan.

In May 2006, the Site of Bayan Ula City was announced by the State Council as part of the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units