Huiyuan Ancient City in Huiyuan Town

Huiyuan is one of the famous historical cities in Xinjiang. In 1763 (the 28th year of Qianlong's reign), Yili general Mingrui built a city on the north bank of the Yili River. Emperor Qianlong personally named it "Huiyuan". It means that the Qing Emperor's kindness extended to distant places.

Huiyuan is divided into old and new cities. The old city was destroyed after Tsarist Russia invaded and occupied Ili in 1871. The new city was rebuilt after Ili was recaptured in 1882. This was later called Huiyuan City.

The old city wall of Huiyuan is one foot and four feet high, with a circumference of nine miles and three thirds. It was expanded again in 1793, and its circumference was extended to ten miles, six and three centimeters, making it the largest city in Xinjiang at that time. The buildings in the city are neatly arranged, with four main streets leading directly to the four main gates. Jingren in the east gate, Shuoze in the west gate, Xuankai in the south gate and Laian in the north gate. There are alleys on every street, 48 in total. There are tall and towering bell and drum towers built in the center of the city to control the four directions. The Bell and Drum Tower has three floors, with cornices and painted roofs. It is majestic and has been well protected to this day. Climb the tower and look into the distance, you will see four streets leading to the east, west, south and north city gate avenues, giving you a panoramic view of the city. The ruins of the old city still exist beside the Ili River.

In Huiyuan City there are the large-scale General's Office, Counselor's Office, Leader's Office, Director Tongzhi and Fumin Tongzhi's Office, etc. At that time, Huiyuan City was also an important garrison town. Within three years from the 29th to the 31st year of Qianlong's reign, 4,370 Manchurian and Mongolian officers and soldiers and 400 shotgun infantry were transferred from Rehe, Liangzhou, Zhuanglang and other places. Arrive at Huiyuan. There are many military facilities, armories, military bureaus, gunpowder bureaus inside and outside the city, as well as training grounds for officers and soldiers to practice martial arts. There are 10 schools in the city, including official schools, private schools, and volunteer schools. There is also a Russian school dedicated to training diplomatic talents. After the signing of the "China-Russia Ili Tarbachatai Trade Regulations" in 1851, Tsarist Russia also established a consulate in Huiyuan. In addition, there is the Baoyi Money Bureau, which is responsible for minting coins.

The Qing Dynasty attached great importance to religious culture. There were many temples inside and outside Huiyuan City. Mosques and lamasery were the main places for religious activities of ethnic minorities. In addition, there are Changshou Palace, Guandi Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Ba Wa Temple, Dragon King Temple, City God Temple, Fire Temple, Feng Temple, General Liu Meng Temple, Wenchang Palace, Kuixing Pavilion, Sheji Altar, Xiannong Altar, Taoist Temple, etc. wait.

Dignitaries and ordinary people in Huiyuan City paid much attention to the construction of courtyards. For example, the peony garden of Xiyunting's family praised by Lin Zexu was surrounded by greenery and poplars, and thousands of peony plants of various colors were planted in the garden. Hong Liangji was very interested in the pond behind the Guandi Temple and often visited it. He once wrote: "There are hundreds of cattails in the pond, hundreds of fish swimming in it, and the sound of frogs can be heard." Lin Zexu admired the lotus flowers in Counselor Qing's office. He wrote: "The lotus flowers in his office are more prosperous than those in the general's office." As for peach orchards, apricot orchards, pear orchards, and apple orchards, they are everywhere. When the flowers and fruits are ripe, They are all good places for people to enjoy the scenery and have an outing. Hong Liangji's "The scenery is especially beautiful during the grain rain, and the apple blossoms are blooming and the birds' tongues are fragrant" is the best portrayal. The Wangjiang Tower in the south of Huiyuan City is located on the bank of the Yili River. It has red columns and green tiles. Official dignitaries or celebrities often climb the tower to drink tea, compose poems, and enjoy the scenery of the Yili River. The business in Huiyuan Old City was also very developed. Hong Liangji once wrote a poem describing the prosperous business situation at that time. When the new city was built in 1882, 40 large stores, shops, restaurants, etc. were built specifically for merchants. They were lined up all around. The streets and alleys were filled with prosperous shops and department stores. Xie Bin said in "Xinjiang Travels" that Huiyuan New City was At its peak, it was known as "Little Beijing". Especially under the advocacy and support of General Chang Geng of Ili, Huiyuan City became a window for Xinjiang to absorb modern industrial civilization. The introduction and installation of modern technologies such as electric lights, telephones, telegraphs, photography, and automobiles had a great impact on the progress of Xinjiang.

Huiyuan Old Town was once a gathering place for cultural celebrities. During the Qing Dynasty, a large number of writings about Xinjiang were written and published in Huiyuan City. Hong Liangji, Qi Yuntu, Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen, etc. are all famous people who lived in Huiyuan. In the seventeenth year of Jiaqing (1812), Xu Song, a famous historian and geographer, wrote a large number of works while he was exiled to Huiyuan. The famous "Waterways of the Western Regions" and "Ode to Xinjiang" were published unscripted at this time. The "Qin Ding Xinjiang Insights" signed by Song Jun is actually Xu Song's masterpiece. Although Lin Zexu only stayed in Huiyuan for two years, he left behind many diaries, poems, and letters.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the growing bourgeois revolutionary movement across the country quickly spread to Ili. The revolutionaries founded the "Ili Vernacular Newspaper" in Huiyuan New Town to promote revolutionary ideas and arm the revolutionary masses. The revolutionary leader Wundt Min, Li Fu, Yang Zanxu and others launched the Ili Uprising on January 7, 1912, overthrowing the Qing government's rule in Ili overnight and achieving a revolutionary victory. The Xinyi Metropolitan Governor's Office was established in Huiyuan City. In 1913, Yang Feixia served as Ili's propaganda envoy, and later changed to the garrison envoy. In 1933, the garrison envoy was changed to Yili Reclamation Envoy, and Zhang Peiyuan served as him. In 1934, after Qiu Zongjun was appointed as the Reclamation Envoy, he moved the Reclamation Envoy's Office from Huiyuan City to Ningyuan City (today's Yining City). From then on, Huiyuan City was only For the garrison camp. Today's Huiyuan City is Huiyuan Town in Huocheng County. It is still the headquarters of a certain unit of the People's Liberation Army. In addition to the well-protected and renovated bell and drum towers in the city, there are still courtyards, winding paths, cloisters, pavilions and rough-style palaces on the site of the General's Mansion. A pair of stone lions. In addition, they have become modern buildings in Huiyuan Town, and it is difficult to recognize the old traces.

Pictures:

Huiyuan Town Administrative Map

Huiyuan Ancient City Picture 1

Huiyuan Ancient City Picture 2