1. Things To Know Before You Go
There were three main palaces in Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty, namely Taiji Palace, Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace. Among them, Daming Palace was the most magnificent and splendid architectural complex. It was located in the northern part of Chang'an City and was also known as the Penglai Palace. It was originally built as a summer palace by Emperor Li Shimin for his father Li Yuan. Its construction started in the eighth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (634 AD). However, before the project was completed, Li Yuan had passed away. In the third year of Longshuo (663 AD), Emperor Gaozong expanded it. Since the reign of Emperor Gaozong, emperors of successive dynasties mostly held court hearings here, including the reign of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, and it was the ruling center of the Tang Dynasty for more than 200 years.
2. Why Is Daming Palace National Heritage Park So Special?
2.1 The Tangible Benefits Bring To Tourists
Daming Palace is an outstanding representative of the oriental garden architectural art and is hailed as the Oriental Holy Temple along the Silk Road, it covers a vast area, stretching 15 kilometers from east to west and 25 kilometers from north to south, with a total of 11 city gates. The main entrance of Daming Palace was named Danfeng Gate, and the main hall was Hanyuan Hall. To the north of Hanyuan Hall was Xuanzheng Hall. On both sides of Xuanzheng Hall were Zhongshu and Menxia Departments as well as Hongwen and History Halls. Besides, there were more than 30 other side halls, pavilions and towers. It would probably take tourists a whole day to visit the entire palace.
On top of this, there are many signboards which have provided some annotations on architectures to help tourists to understand the site in a more comprehensive and in-depth way and thus learn about the architectural culture of the Tang Dynasty in this heritage park.
2.2 Attractions Overview
2.2.1 Geographical Features
Daming Palace National Heritage Park is situated in the Xincheng District of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. Its construction began in the eighth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (634 AD) and it was initially named Yong'an Palace. In the first month of the ninth year of Zhenguan (635 AD), its name was changed to Daming Palace and served as the ruling center of the Tang Dynasty for more than 200 years.
2.2.2 Tourism Resources
The current Daming Palace National Heritage Park has basically restored the historical appearance of Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty and continued its historical style. Meanwhile, it embodies tourism elements on the basis of cultural relics protection. As the largest urban central park in Xi'an City, it has six highlights and ten typical tourist attractions.
The six highlights are as follows:
A large-scale site pattern composed of an 8-kilometer-long palace wall, 18 palace gates and the central axis.
Landmark signs of unique ancient oriental architectural sites, such as Zichen Hall and Hanyao Gate.
A panoramic miniature landscape of Daming Palace built on the basis of scientific restoration research.
A site center integrating archaeology, scientific research, popular science, entertainment and tourism together.
A site interpretation system combining IMAX 3D movies, physical objects, electronics, models and signboards.
A night landscape system of "Moonlight Daming Palace".
2.2.3 Architecture Characteristics
As the most magnificent architectural complex site among the "Three Inner Palaces" (Taiji Palace, Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace) in the Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty, it mainly includes palaces such as Hanyuan Hall, Linde Hall, Sanqing Hall and Qingsi Hall. With Danfeng Gate - Hanyuan Hall - Xuanzheng Hall - Zichen Hall - Xuanwu Gate - Chongxuan Gate as the central axis from south to north, it is divided into three major areas: the front court area, the palace area and the imperial garden area, covering a total area of about 3.84 square kilometers, which is 4.5 times of Forbidden City in Beijing.
The main street inside the city, Danfeng Gate Street, is as wide as 176 meters. The southern part of Daming Palace is the former court, which consists of Hanyuan Hall, Xuanzheng Hall and Zichen Hall as the centers from south to north, the center of the inner court in the northern part is Taiye Pool. Its northern part is the imperial garden area, its architectural layout is relatively open and architectural forms are diverse, making it a masterpiece of the garden architecture in the Tang Dynasty.
2.2.4 History Backgrounds
The construction of Daming Palace began in the eighth year of Zhenguan (634 AD), which was during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. As the largest palace complex built by the Tang Dynasty in Chang'an, it was originally named Yong'an Palace and later renamed Daming Palace. Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty ordered to rebuild the Daming Palace because the Taiji Palace was located in a low-lying area with a humid climate and he suffered from rheumatism for a long time, after that he took it as the main place for recuperation and court affairs. Since then, Daming Palace became the political center and national symbol of the Tang Empire.
2.2.5 Cultural Activities
The Visitor Center of Daming Palace National Heritage Park and Danfeng Gate scenic spot include three models and two films. Among them, the IMAX 3D film is "The Legend of Daming Palace". At the Linde Hall, there are performances such as "Six Steeds of the Great Tang Dynasty", "The Sun and the Moon in Daming Palace", "Officials Going to Court", "Danfeng Welcoming Guests" and "Love in Daming Palace" for tourists to watch and appreciate, all of them are really visual appealing.
3. How To Get To Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Internal Transportation
Sightseeing Bus in the Scenic Area: 30 yuan per person, it includes a tour around the entire scenic area (with a bus departing approximately every 20 minutes, and passengers can get on and off at each stop at any time).
External Transportation
South Gate of the Scenic Area: Take buses No. 2, 17, 22, 38, 46, 104, 209, 216, 263, 309, 409, 517, 703, 801, 913 in downtown Xi'an and get off at the station named "Daming Palace Heritage Park".
East Gate of the Scenic Area (along Taihua Road): Take buses No. 2, 17, 22, 46, 104, 209, 216, 263, 309 in the downtown area and get off at the station named "Daming Palace National Heritage Park".
Subway: Take Metro Line 4 and get off at the stations of "Daming Palace" and "Hanyuan Hall". Exit from the southwest exit B and visitors can reach the destination.
Daming Palace is mainly divided into three areas: the museum area, the core area, and the leisure and sports area.Tickets are required for the core area and the museum and the full price is 60 yuan per person.
In the core area, tourists can see the miniature landscape of Daming Palace, watch the IMAX 3D film "The Legend of Daming Palace", and even experience the archaeological excavation and restoration of cultural relics.
4. What To See In Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Daming Palace National Heritage Park has basically reappeared the historical appearance of Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty. The main tourist attractions include Danfeng Gate scenic spot, the attractions along the central axis, Taiye Pool, Linde Hall, the Site Center, Xuanwu Gate, Chongxuan Gate and Sports Area, Sanqing Hall, Dafu Hall and the display areas of some villages, the garden landscapes and sculptures in the imperial garden area, Chinese Calligraphy Museum on the southern palace wall, Tang Tri-colored Pottery Museum and the leisure area on the eastern palace wall.
Daming Palace Museum, located on the north side of Hanyuan Hall, is a fully underground building. The museum has wonderfully presented the cultural connotations such as architecture, painting, clothing and ritual systems of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, tourists who visit these wonderful places will be attracted by them deeply.
4.1 Danfeng Gate 丹凤门
It is the main south gate of the Daming Palace with magnificent scale, there is a museum inside which unveils the history of Daming Palace. Five gateways with a gate tower built on top, so its scale exceeds that of other palace gates. Inside the gate, there is an imperial road about 500 meters long, which leads directly to the courtyard of Hanyuan Hall. The newly built Danfeng Gate is not a reconstructed one but a model made by hanging boards on a steel structure, its interior structure is a museum mainly based on the original Danfeng Gate site, perfectly achieving a seamless combination of protection and display.
4.2 Hanyuan Hall 含元殿
Hanyuan Hall is the main hall of Daming Palace and also a landmark building in the Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty, it had been in use for 223 years after its completion in 663 AD. As the most magnificent building in the Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty at that time, it was the place where the emperor held major celebrations and court assemblies.
During the Tang Dynasty, grand court assemblies as well as various military parade ceremonies were held here on the first day of the lunar year and the winter solstice, the platform of Hanyuan Hall had a width of nearly 76 meters and a depth of nearly 40 meters, which fully embodied the magnificent and imposing manner of "The palace gates are opened in the celestial court, and envoys from all countries pay homage to the emperor" in those days.
4.3 Daming Palace Heritage Museum 大明宫遗址博物馆
It is a specialized museum for archaeological sites in the field of social sciences with a total construction area of approximately 10,000 square meters, covering an area of 1,448 square meters with an exhibition hall area of 400 square meters. It mainly makes use of audio-visual materials, display boards, models, texts, unearthed cultural relic specimens to provide a systematic introduction to Daming Palace and the situation of Daming Palace Site, enabling the audience to understand the history of the rise and fall as well as the current situation of Daming Palace.
4.4 Miniature Landscape of Daming Palace Site Museum 大明宫遗址博物馆微缩景观
It is located within Daming Palace National Heritage Park and has truly restored the palace complex of Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty at its heyday according to a scale of 1:15. This miniature landscape covers an area of approximately 3.2 square kilometers and includes more than 1,100 architectural models, covering various palaces, supporting houses, enclosure walls and other facilities. The architectural details in the miniature landscape are exquisite. Every brick, tile, beam and pillar of all the buildings was crafted by hand. Even the tiles on the palaces were fired based on the craftsmanship of real tiles with vivid details. Besides, colored lights and gilded paintings have been installed on the buildings in the miniature landscape. When the lights are turned on at night, the whole landscape becomes even more dazzling.
The miniature landscape of Daming Palace displays the appearance of the palaces in the prosperous Tang Dynasty through its ingenious design and lifelike details, when tourists catch a glimpse of them, it seems that they have traveled through time and space to feel the profoundness of history and the charm of culture in the Tang Dynasty.
4.5 Site of Sanqing Hall 三清殿遗址
The site is located in the northwest corner of Daming Palace. As a high-platform building, Taoism was highly venerated and Laozi was worshiped in the Tang Dynasty, so Sanqing Hall was a building in the imperial court for enshrining and sacrificing to Taoism. Its plane is in a convex shape, wider in the north and narrower in the south, 78.6 meters long from north to south with an area of more than 4,000 square meters. Besides Sanqing Hall, there are also other Taoist temples and shrines in the Daming Palace, such as the sites of Dajiao Temple and the Temple of Emperor Xuanyuan.
4.6 Site of Taiye Pool in the Tang Dynasty 唐太液池遗址
Taiye Pool, also known as Penglai Pool, is sited in the central area of northern part of Daming Palace with a hundred feet high. It was first dug during Zhenguan or Longshuo period, and then Emperor Xuanzong ordered the construction of the Moon-watching Platform on both sides of Taiye Pool to enjoy the moon with Concubine Yang in the later period of Kaiyuan era.
Currently, there is a mound about 5 meters high in the pool, which is the site of Penglai. The Taiye Pool covers an area of approximately 16,000 square meters and is divided into the eastern and western pools with a canal connecting them in the middle. According to the actual archaeological measurements, the western pool is 500 meters long from east to west and 320 meters wide from north to south. The eastern pool is smaller, 220 meters long from north to south and 150 meters wide from east to west, and it is only a little more than 5 meters away from the eastern palace wall. The banks of the pool are three to four meters higher than the bottom of the pool, the water source of Taiye Pool was diverted from the Longshou Canal coming from the south. There are underground canals connecting it outside of the palace, the surrounding corridors and nearby palace buildings were all carefully arranged on the basis of the topographical features in a scattered yet orderly manner.
4.7 Imperial Road Square 御道广场
The imperial road was the passage leading to the main hall in the ancient imperial palace city, the so-called "imperial road" here today is actually a huge square with more than 600 meters long from north to south and over 700 meters wide from east to west through archaeological excavations, so the total area is approximately 420,000 square meters. The imperial road was the "courtyard" of Daming Palace and was the place where the emperor held grand ceremonies, military parades, and received foreign envoys.
Meanwhile, its huge spatial distribution not only fully enhanced the magnificent and imposing manner of Hanyuan Hall but also created an extremely broad view, making everyone who came to the front of the Hanyuan Hall experience a strong visual impact and a shock to the soul. Nowadays, the magnificent and solemn historical atmosphere has been presented after the restoration of the historical form of the imperial road, which is truly amazing and splendid.
5. Suggested Tour Routes And Attractions
Tour Route in the Heritage Protection and Display Area
Visitor Service Center - Imperial Road Square - Golden Water Bridge - Entrance and Exit of the Golden Water Bridge - Hanyuan Hall Site Area - Site Museum - Miniature Landscape - Xuanzheng Hall Site - Wangxian Terrace Site - Zichen Hall Site - Pear Garden - South Bank of Taiye Pool - Archaeological Exploration Center - Danfeng Gate Museum
Time spent: Approximately 2 hours
Tour Route for the Whole Park
Visitor Service Center - Imperial Road Square - Golden Water Bridge - Entrance and Exit of the Golden Water Bridge - Hanyuan Hall Site Area - Site Museum - Miniature Landscape - Xuanzheng Hall Site - Wangxian Terrace Site - Zichen Hall Site - Entrance and Exit of Qingsi Hall - Chongxuan Gate and Xuanwu Gate Sites - Sanqing Hall Site - Archaeological Exploration Center - Danfeng Gate Museum
Time spent: Approximately 3 to 4 hours
6. Best Time To Go
The best time to visit Daming Palace National Heritage Park is in spring (from March to May) and autumn (from September to November). Each spring is a great opportunity for tourists to enjoy the flowers. At that time, various kinds of flowers in the park are blooming competitively. The best viewing spots include Jiuxianmen Road, Bridge No. 10, West Gongyuan Road and the Peony Garden. In autumn, the weather is cool and it is very suitable for outdoor activities, the landscapes in the park are also very appealing to tourists who love traveling and taking pictures.
7. Nearby Attractions
7.1 Xi'an Bell Tower 西安钟楼
It is located in the center of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. As the intersection point of the four main streets running east-west and north-south within the Ming City Wall, it is also one of the existing bell towers in China with the largest scale and the best preservation. The Bell Tower is not only one of the landmark buildings in Xi'an but also has profound historical and cultural values. It used to be a means of telling time in ancient cities with the bell being struck to announce the time every morning, but now The Bell Tower has retained its original architectural style and functions and is of great historical value after several renovations throughout history.
7.2 Xi'an City Wall 西安城墙
As one of the largest and best-preserved ancient city walls existing in China, it is located in the central area of Xi'an City, its construction began in the third year of Hongwu reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (1370 AD) and then it was expanded on the basis of the city walls from the Sui, Tang and Yuan dynasties. Actually, Xi'an City Wall is not only an important historical relic but also a model of the military defense system, it includes facilities such as the moat, drawbridge, gate tower with sluice, arrow tower, main tower, corner tower, watchtower, parapet and crenel, which form a strict and complete defense system.
7.3 Guangren Temple 广仁寺
It is located in the northwest corner inside the Ming City Wall in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. Its construction began in the forty-fourth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1705 AD) and was built with the funds appropriated by Emperor Kangxi under imperial edict. Guangren Temple is the only Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa monastery in the whole country and also the only Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Shaanxi Province, possessing extremely high historical and cultural values.
7.4 Yongxing Fang 永兴坊
Perched on the east side of Xi'an City Wall in the Xincheng District of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, it was one of the 108 fang (residential quarters) in the Tang Dynasty and was the former site of the residence of Wei Zheng, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. The Yongxing Fang park is divided into eight blocks, namely Guanzhong Alley, Shannan Street, Shanbei Lane, Handicraft Workshops, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Folk Custom Street, No. 107 Street, Cultural and Creative Street and Fortune Street. It gathers the cultural "essence" of 11 cities and 107 districts in Shaanxi Province. To be specific, it is mainly constructed in the forms of antique "fang and si" (residential and commercial buildings), memorial archways, leisure and green squares, inner streets and well houses, reproducing the neighborhood style, historical living atmosphere and traditional folk life space of the ancient Chang'an City, thus it is a very good destination for entertainments and leisure activities.
