Chad Lavy

Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongalia Autonomous Region, has an area of 6 thousand square kilometers and a population of 1.41 million. Hohot is a historical and cultural city. It has many ancient relics, including Zhaojun Tomb, Five Pagoda Temple, and White Tower. It is also famous for barbecue and the production of mushrooms and hops.

Zhaojun Tomb, which is called Green “Grave” of “Tmur Urhu” in Mongolian, is situated in the southern suburb of Hohhot, 9 kilometers away from the urban area. It is said that it is the tomb of Wang Zhaojun — a maid in the imperial palace of the Emperor Yuan Di of the Han Dynasty — volunteered to marry the chief Huhanye of Xiongnu Horde as a peace envoy. The tomb is an artificial earthen mound with a height of 33 meters. According to the legend, the green grass on the huge mound never turned yellow even when late autumn came.

Five-Pagoda Temple is situated in the Wutasi-hou Street, Yuquan District, Hohhot. The construction of the temple began in the 5th year of the reign of the Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. The Pagoda is 16.5 meters high and looks like a Buddha’s Warrior Attendant’s seat, with a base under it and five exquisite pagodas on the base. As more than 1560 relief sculptures of Buddha are engraved on the five pagodas, the temple enjoys the reputation of being “a 10000-Buddha Tower”. In addition, there are images of Bodhisattva, the four Devarajas, Buddhist Saint, Heavenly Ladies, holy birds and animal, bodhi trees and the engraved scriptures in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit on the wall of the pagodas. On the wall facing the temple there are 3 marble relief sculptures, including a planisphere marked with Mongolian inscriptions. The pagodas are not only peculiar buildings, but also a huge exquisite carving.

White Tower is located in the White Tower Village of the east suburb of Hohhot, 17 kilometers away from the urban area. It was originally a tower of Buddhist temple where the Buddhist scripture was collected and preserved. The octagonal tower, a brick-wood building painted with chalk, is characterized by the architectural style of the Liao Dynasty. The tower is 55 meters high, looking grand and magnificent. Its base is shaped like lotus flower petals. On the surface of the tower are carved the exquisite relief sculptures of Buddha, Bodhisattva, heavenly kings and dragons, which are all true to life and pleasing in form. Six tablets of the Jin Dynasty and more than 200 scriptures written in quite a few languages are all well preserved on the walls inside the tower. All this records the history and customs of the ancient town called Fengzhou. As this tower is one of the most exquisite towers of the Liao Dynasty in China, it was appointed to be a unit under the key protection and preservation by the State Council in 1982.