The Tuchengzi Site in Helinge’er

The Tuchengzi Site in Helinge’er

The Tuchengzi Site in Helinge’er is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Tuchengzi Site is located 12 kilometers north of Helinge’er County in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and is the ruins of an ancient city dating from the Han to the Tang dynasties.

The site is an irregular polygon, measuring approximately 1,550 meters from east to west and 2,250 meters from north to south, covering a total area of about 3.49 million square meters. The city gates, barbicans, corner towers, and building foundations are largely well-preserved, and the streets within the city can still be faintly traced. The urban layout is divided into three zones. The southern zone retains the southern section of the eastern wall and the southern wall; the northern zone preserves the eastern, western, northern, and southwestern walls; and the central zone has the eastern and northern walls, likely representing remains of the Liao, Jin, or Yuan dynasty city. Dozens of Han and Tang dynasty tombs have been discovered outside the city, yielding abundant physical artifacts, including the Northern Wei Dynasty gem-inlaid gold pig pendant, Tang tri-colored glazed pottery parrot-shaped ewer, as well as mural tombs from the Northern Wei and Tang periods—all of which hold significant academic value.

The Tuchengzi Site in Helinge’er and the artifacts unearthed there provide important physical evidence for studying the historical geography of central Inner Mongolia and the economic and cultural exchanges among various ethnic groups. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units