Travelogue of Dingzhou
The ancient city of Dingzhou is located 50 kilometers southwest of Baoding, renowned for its long history and splendid culture. Since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Dingzhou has been a political, economic, military, and cultural center in the north, leaving behind a rich cultural heritage.
During the Warring States period, between the southern Yan and northern Zhao, in what is now the central-southern part of Hebei Province, there existed a 'marquisate' established by the Di tribe, the Zhongshan State. Zhongshan was initially called Xianyu. The name of Xianyu's important city first appeared in historical records in the eighth year of King You of Zhou's reign (774 BC). In the fourth year of Duke Ding of Lu (506 BC), the name Zhongshan began to appear in historical texts. Zhongshan's early capital was at Zhongren (present-day Tang County), with the capital city named Zhongshan. Later, the capital was moved to Gu (present-day Dingzhou city). In the 41st year of Marquis Wen of Wei (406 BC), Wei destroyed Zhongshan. Around 381 BC, Duke Huan of Zhongshan led the remaining Xianyu people to expel the Wei rulers, restoring Zhongshan and moving the capital to Lingshou. Subsequently, its national strength quickly reached its peak. In 323 BC, it proclaimed itself king along with Zhao, Han, Wei, and Yan. In the third year of King Huiwen of Zhao (296 BC), it was conquered by Zhao. From the first appearance of Xianyu in historical records to the final demise of Zhongshan, it lasted 478 years, spanning almost the entire Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
The Ancient Prefectural Office of Dingzhou was the political stage where local feudal officials exercised governance and management. It symbolized the highest status and greatest authority in the prefecture. It carries the history of feudal imperial culture and reflects the wisdom and hard work of Dingzhou's ancestors.
The overall architecture and decorative style of the Dingzhou Prefectural Office almost perfectly restore the solemn and majestic ancient appearance of the 'Dingzhou Yamen', recreating the cultural features of the ancient prefectural office under the feudal imperial system. It also uses wax figures, reliefs, murals, and other forms to showcase Dingzhou culture and historical anecdotes that took place in the Dingzhou Yamen, such as 'Whipping the Inspector', 'Cao Rui Instructing His Son', 'No Rest for Sun and Moon', 'Shooting the Screen to Choose a Son-in-law', 'Emperor Taizong Banqueting at Zhongshan', 'The Largest Iron Factory of the Prosperous Tang Dynasty', 'Rolling Up Sleeves for Burning Coal', and so on.
Han Qi was a famous politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, serving under Emperors Renzong, Yingzong, and Shenzong with outstanding achievements, greatly influencing the political situation of the Northern Song. During his five years as commander in the important border town of Dingzhou, he reorganized the army, strengthened national defense, governed with benevolence, and benefited the people, gaining deep popular support and demonstrating the scholar-official sentiment of worrying about the country and the people.
Chongwen Street is a key commercial project under the Dingzhou government's plan to restore the prefectural office compound. It is also the first commercial pedestrian street in Dingzhou built entirely in imitation of Ming and Qing dynasty styles. It inherits the Zhongshan culture of Dingzhou, takes the market-style street as its theme, and organically integrates the pedestrian street with commerce, creating an experiential shopping venue combining entertainment, leisure, shopping, and tourism. It has become a cultural symbol of Dingzhou city and is strived to be built as Dingzhou's version of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival.
The Dingzhou Imperial Examination Hall (also known as the Examination Shed) is the only well-preserved examination site from the feudal society in northern China for selecting Xiucai (licentiates) and Gongsheng (tribute students). It was built in the third year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1738 AD) by Zhou Mu Wang Danian, gathering civil and military candidates from within the jurisdiction to take exams for Xiucai and Gongsheng. In the 12th year of Daoguang's reign (1822 AD), Zhou Mu Wang Zhonghuai persuaded people to donate, expanded the site, renovated, and added buildings, forming a large-scale examination ground. After subsequent repairs, it has been preserved to this day and was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 2001.
The Dingzhou Confucian Temple, also known as the 'Confucius Temple', was first built in 848 AD (the second year of Dazhong in the Tang Dynasty) and is one of the oldest prefectural Confucian temples in Hebei Province. Covering an area of over 12,000 square meters, it is the largest and most intact Confucian temple complex in Hebei Province. The three adjacent courtyards (east, west, and middle) have an axially symmetrical layout. The main buildings in the east courtyard are the Chongsheng Shrine and Kuixing Pavilion; the west courtyard is the Minglun Hall; the middle courtyard includes the Dacheng Hall, Ji Gate, and Lingxing Gate. The Confucian Temple is a key cultural relic protection unit in Hebei Province. There are also scenic spots such as the Two Locust Trees Planted by Su Dongpo, the Locust Embracing Spring, and the Falling Star Stone. Later, the Dacheng Hall, Kuixing Pavilion, Lingxing Gate, and Chongsheng Shrine were restored, several exhibition rooms on the verge of collapse were renovated, a stone inscription corridor was built, and a fine cultural relics exhibition room was constructed.
The Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda in Dingzhou is named because it was built within the Kaiyuan Temple. The temple has long been destroyed, and only this pagoda remains among its buildings. Construction of the Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda began in the fourth year of Xianping under Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1001 AD) and was completed in the second year of Zhihe under Emperor Renzong (1055 AD). There were two reasons for building this pagoda: first, to enshrine the Buddhist scriptures brought back from the Western Regions by the eminent monk Lingneng of Kaiyuan Temple on imperial order; second, for military purposes, as climbing the pagoda allowed observation of Liao troops. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Dingzhou was located on the border between Song and Liao, serving as the gateway of the nation. There was a saying: 'Among the eighteen circuits of the world, Hebei was the most important; among the thirty-six prefectures of Hebei, Dingzhou was the most crucial.' Hence, this pagoda is also known as the 'Enemy-Reconnoitering Pagoda'. The pagoda is 83.7 meters tall, the tallest existing brick pagoda in China, and the tallest building of its same period and structure in the world. Renowned ancient architecture expert Luo Zhewen praised it as the 'Number One Pagoda of China'. In 1961, it was listed by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relic protection units.
The Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda consists of three parts: the base, the body, and the spire. The base is made of brick and stone, octagonal in shape, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, with stairs leading up. The body has eleven levels, octagonal pavilion-style, tapering and reducing proportionally from bottom to top. Four main directions on the exterior have doors with painted flame patterns on top, symbolizing the holy scene of Buddha's light shining everywhere and incense swirling. The four side directions have blind windows with painted decorative patterns. On the tenth and eleventh levels, doors are opened on all eight sides. Each level has short eaves made by overlapping bricks, with wind chimes hanging under the eaves to scare birds when the wind blows. Platforms above the eaves allow visitors to walk around and look into the distance. The internal structure features an inner pagoda body surrounded by an outer one, forming a corridor between them where visitors can tour around the pagoda. The ceilings of the corridors on levels one to seven are of dougong and flat chess overlapping brick style, while levels eight to eleven have arched vault ceilings. The stairway twists in a zigzag pattern through the inner pagoda body to reach the top. Inside, each level has one to six niches, most with painted Buddhist figures. The central niche on the first floor, located at the center of the pagoda's plan, is the largest and most distinctive: its dome-shaped caisson ceiling creates a decorative effect 'rising high like an umbrella', supported by dougong below. Originally, a tall standing Buddha statue was enshrined in the niche, but it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The top of the pagoda body has a roof with green glazed tile edges, eight slopes and eight ridges, with an iron warrior standing at each ridge end. Above this is the spire, 8.56 meters high, composed of a brick-carved lotus petal base, a waist-contracted iron bowl with upward and downward lotus patterns, two copper precious beads, and one copper precious top.
The South Gate of Dingzhou, also known as 'Yingtai Gate', was built in the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, with a history of over 600 years. At that time, Ping'an, the military commander of Dingzhou, expanded the old city to strengthen defense against northern invaders. He demolished temples, built city walls, destroyed temple bells, cast weapons, and constructed 13 kilometers of new city walls, opening four gates (east, west, south, north) with barbicans and crescent walls. Over each gate, multi-eaved gate towers were built as observation and command posts. The inner gate is majestic and grand: the wall is 12 meters high, the gate tower 8 meters high, and the wall 22 meters wide. It was repaired during the Wanli period of Ming, and the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Daoguang periods of Qing. Due to historical changes, only part of the city wall and three gates remain.
The Dingzhou Zhongshan Academy, also known as Zhongshan Temple School, was built in 1050 AD by Han Qi, the chancellor of the Song Dynasty, when he served as the prefect of Dingzhou. It was built adjacent to the Confucian Temple and was once a place where Confucius taught. It lies to the west of the Dingzhou Confucian Temple and is now the Hebei Jizhong Vocational College.
