Nine-Dragon Wall

九龙壁

A glazed screen wall in front of the residence of Prince Dai, a son of the first Ming emperor. At 45.5 meters long, it predates and is larger than the Nine-Dragon Walls in Beihai Park and the Forbidden City, and it is China's oldest and largest surviving Nine-Dragon Wall.

The Datong Nine-Dragon Wall was built in 1392, the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, as a screen wall in front of the palace of Zhu Gui, Prince Dai and the 13th son of the Hongwu Emperor. The prince's palace was destroyed in the wars at the end of the Ming dynasty, but the screen wall survived. The wall is 8 meters high, 45.5 meters long and 2.02 meters thick, and is built from 426 multicolored glazed components. Nine dragons leap through clouds and waves across the surface. A yellow dragon at the center is the main figure, and eight others on either side face toward it in different poses. The dragon bodies are fired in yellow, green, blue, purple and other glazes. The top of the wall has glazed bracket sets and a tiled roof imitating timber construction. Below, a sumeru base is carved with animals including oxen, horses, lions and elephants. In front of the wall was a pool designed so that the dragon reflections appeared in the water, and a light breeze made the nine dragons seem to swim. It is more than 350 years older than the Nine-Dragon Wall in Beihai Park in Beijing, and it is the oldest and largest of China's three Nine-Dragon Walls. The site is small, and a visit takes about 20 to 30 minutes. It fits well on a route between Huayan Temple and Shanhua Temple. Next door are the reconstructed Prince Dai's Mansion (separate ticket), the Drum Tower and the Four-Paifang area, which together make a walking loop of the old city. Admission is about 10 yuan. Getting there: the wall is on Datong East Street in the old city and can be reached on foot. Note: do not touch the glazed surface. When crowds gather, wait patiently for a clear angle from the front.

Nine-Dragon Wall

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