Xuanhua, located 175 kilometers west of Beijing and home to over 300,000 people, boasts a long history and rich cultural heritage. It is a renowned historical and cultural city in Hebei Province and an ancient frontier town in northern China. During the Qin Dynasty, it was part of Shanggu Commandery, became Wuzhou in the Tang Dynasty, was renamed Xuanhua Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty, and was known as Xuanhua City after liberation. In 1963, it became Xuanhua District under Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. Xuanhua is home to numerous cultural relics and historic sites, such as the majestic Ming Dynasty structures Qingyuan Tower and Zhenso Tower—often referred to as the “Second Yellow Crane Tower”—and the Xia Balili Liao Tombs mural tomb complex, all of which are national key cultural relics protection units. Other provincial-level protected sites include Gongji Tower and the Brick Carved Five-Dragon Wall. Additionally, Xuanhua features a particularly notable modern relic: the Former Site of the Democratic Government of Chahar Province, the first provincial-level government established under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Located at No. 50 Pailou West Street in the ancient city, it is a traditional courtyard that blends Chinese and Western architectural styles.
In the early Qing Dynasty, Catholicism had already been introduced to Xuanhua. By the first year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1862 AD), the Beijing Diocese decided to relocate the original parish church from Mengjiacao to within the Xuanhua city walls. In 1869, donations were raised to construct the main cathedral. In 1900, the cathedral was burned down by the Boxers, and was later rebuilt in 1904 using funds from the...
Xuanhua grapes have a history of over 1,300 years. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, Xuanhua grapes had gained fame worldwide. Guanhou Village is the largest grape-growing village in Xuanhua District, with a current grape planting area of over 700 acres. Leveraging the village’s unique geographical advantages, the government has built a grape estate. The estate integrates tourism, leisure, …
Among the many historical and cultural relics in the ancient city of Xuanhua, there is a brick-carved screen wall featuring a design with five giant dragons as its central motif, commonly known as the Five Dragons Wall. In 1982, it was listed as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit. The Five Dragons Wall brick carving was once part of the original Mituo Temple. It is a hillside-style screen wall facing west and situated eastward. The brick carvings mimic wooden structures and utilize…
In the early Ming Dynasty, to strengthen military preparedness, the imperial court built Xuanfu City. The city wall spanned 12 kilometers in circumference, and later was clad in bricks, forming a formidable military stronghold with towering walls and deep moats. It was hailed as “the mightiest among all prefectures,” known as the “Shield of the Imperial Capital” and the “Key to the Capital,” thus earning the reputation as the foremost ancient city wall west of Beijing. To this day, the Xuanhua Ancient City Wall…
Qingyuan Tower is located in the center of the ancient city of Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. Also known as the Bell Tower, it was first built in the 18th year of the Chenghua reign during the Ming Dynasty (1482 AD). The 19th son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty once constructed the Shanggu Prince’s Mansion to the west of Qingyuan Tower and stationed troops there to defend against foreign invaders. In 1744, when Emperor Qianlong traveled north and passed through Xuanhua Prefecture, he invested 100,000 taels of silver to renovate Qingyuan...
Legend has it that Phoenix Mountain is where the mythical phoenix once perched. With its main peak standing at an elevation of 1,997.1 meters, it is the highest peak in Xuanhua County. The Huangyang Mountain and Jiming Mountain lie at its feet, while Zhangjiakou, Xuanhua, and Xiayuanhu are all visible from its summit. The area enjoys abundant rainfall and is rich in springs, covered in lush forests. Especially around the transition from spring to summer, wildflowers bloom all over the mountain,…
Changyukou is located on the upper reaches of Liuchuan River, at the southern foot of Bianqiang Mountain, about 20 kilometers north of Xuanhua. In the spring of the second year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty, the great general Chang Yuchun captured the Yuan capital Shangdu, also known as Kaiping (now west of Duolun), and after returning in triumph, he was stationed here. Unfortunately, he died suddenly of illness, and thus the place was named after him as Changyukou (a homophonic reference). In the 1950s…
Ge’yubao was first built in the early Tang Dynasty. Before the An Lushan Rebellion, An Lushan constructed the Xiongwu Army City here and stationed troops, earning it the reputation of “Ge’yubao came before Xuanhua City.” The city wall is 4 kilometers in circumference, 3 zhang 6 chi (approximately 12 meters) high, with gates on the west and south sides, as well as a barbican. At that time, looking down at Ge’yubao from the mountains, the red…
Qingbiankou is located in Xuanhua County, Hebei Province, about 200 kilometers from Beijing. It was an important pass along the Great Wall of the Xuanfu Town during the Ming Dynasty. Due to its unique terrain—steep mountains on both sides and a broad, flat area at the pass itself—it was difficult to defend. Starting from the Wanli era, through multiple phases of construction, it developed into a complex and uniquely laid-out fortification featuring three walls, three borders, nine gates, and nine passes...
Jinyuan Mountain Villa is located at the foot of the Outer Great Wall in Dongwangshan Township, Xuanhua County, on the upper reaches of the Geyu River. Four kilometers to the northeast lies Phoenix Mountain, known as a "wildflower garden," while four kilometers to the northwest stands the majestic and picturesque Monkey Mountain. One kilometer to the southwest is the historic Geyu Fort. Jinyuan Mountain Villa boasts clear waters, a cool climate, and fresh air. It features newly decorated...
Bolin Temple is located 35 kilometers south of Xuanhua. It was first built during the Zhengde era of the Tang Dynasty, over 1,200 years ago, and is now a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province. The main structures consist of three grottoes and a pagoda situated on the northern hillside. The grottoes house more than 300 stone Buddhist statues of various sizes, exquisitely carved and lifelike. The pagoda is a five-story, eight-sided...
Before the liberation, there were two ancient pagodas in Xuanhua County: one was the Lihua Temple Pagoda at the southwest corner of Xuanhua City, and the other was the Yiluo Pagoda, located 20 kilometers southwest of the city. After the liberation, the Lihua Temple Pagoda was incorporated into Xuanhua City due to administrative boundary changes.
Beijing Railway Dongwangshan Villa is an ecological tourism zone developed in 2002 by the Zhangjiakou Construction Section of the Beijing Railway Bureau. It was built in response to the national policy of converting farmland back to forest and grassland, aiming to establish a green barrier for the northwestern part of the capital and to develop a diversified economy. The villa is nestled at the foot of the Great Wall in Dongtong Village, Dongwangshan Township...
Huangyangtan is located in the southeastern part of Xuanhua County, covering a large sandy area within the watershed of the Yanghe River, a first-level tributary of the upper Yongding River. The terrain of Huangyangtan is complex, with higher elevations in the southeast and lower in the northwest. The eastern and southern parts consist of steep rocky mountains. It spans 13.7 kilometers from east to west and 12.9 kilometers horizontally from north to south, but the elevation difference reaches 1,128...
The Beijing West’s First Prefecture Tourism Area consists of scenic spots in Xuanhua District and Xuanhua County. Its core attraction is the ancient city of Xuanhua, renowned as the “Beijing West’s First Prefecture.” The entire tourism area spans a total of 2,371.7 square kilometers. The Beijing West’s First Prefecture Tourism Area boasts numerous cultural relics and historic sites, including three national key cultural heritage protection units and ten Hebei Provincial key...
The Xia Balizhi Tomb Cluster is located in the suburbs of Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, northeast of Xia Balizhi Village in Hezi Township, about 4 kilometers northwest of the ancient city of Xuanhua. It is a tomb cluster of the Zhang family (with the western section being the burial ground of the Han family), primarily represented by the tomb of Zhang Shiqing, an imperial censor of the Liao Dynasty, built in 1116 (the sixth year of the Tianqing era of the Liao Dynasty). This…
The Zhang Shiqing Mural Tomb is located on a slope about one li north of Xiabali Village in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. Among them, the most famous mural tomb was built in the sixth year of the Tianqing era (1116) during the reign of Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Dynasty. The tomb owner, Zhang Shiqing, was a Han Chinese who contributed 2,500 hu of grain to the imperial court and was granted the title of Yunqiwei. The murals are vibrant in color, with smooth brushwork, and the lines—
Xuanhua Museum is located east of the Catholic Church on Pailou West Street in Xuanhua. It was formerly the Josephine Major Seminary. The museum officially opened to the public on February 11, 2011, exhibiting over 1,000 cultural relics unearthed from ancient, modern, and contemporary periods since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, as well as more than 1,300 images, supplemented by simulated scenes, dioramas, sculptures, and more. The exhibition...
Nestled against Tailings Mountain to the north and bordering the Yanghe River to the south, Xuanhua City is a radiant pearl nestled within the intermontane basin of the eastern section of the Yin Mountains. In 1992, it was designated as a Historical and Cultural City by the People’s Government of Hebei Province, earning the reputation of “The Premier Prefecture West of Beijing.” The history of the Xuanhua region stretches back to ancient times. As early as the Xia and Shang dynasties, Xuanhua was successively under the jurisdiction of...