White walls
Among the dunes.
鲍向阳 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Caitriana Nicholson from 北京 ~ Beijing, 中国 ~ China — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cong — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Caitriana Nicholson from 北京 ~ Beijing, 中国 ~ China — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Caitriana Nicholson from 北京 ~ Beijing, 中国 ~ China — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Caitriana Nicholson from 北京 ~ Beijing, 中国 ~ China — CC BY-SA 2.0 · 鲍向阳 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · 鲍向阳 — CC BY-SA 3.0
The ruins of the capital of the Xia kingdom founded by the Xiongnu in the 5th century, on the north bank of the Wuding River at the southern edge of the Mu Us desert. Its ruler Helian Bobo began building it in 413; its name means «the city ruling ten thousand», and it is the only capital the Xiongnu left in China. Its walls were built of an extremely hard mix of sand, clay and lime that stayed white, so locals call it the «white city». The surviving parts rise 2 to 10 m among the dunes; abandoned as the sands advanced, it was identified again in 1845 and became a national protected monument in 1996. Tickets cost CNY 50, open Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm with a midday break, closed on Mondays, per visitor guides.
Among the dunes.
Standing for centuries.
All around.
Baichengze village, Jingbian County, about 50 km north of the county town, Yulin
Its walls were built of a hard mix of sand, clay and lime that stayed white; it is the only Xiongnu capital in China, and tickets cost CNY 50, per visitor guides.