Ancient barrier brings people new horizon

The ancient town is composed of two villages－Old Guangwu and New Guangwu, which used to be two fortresses along the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty. There are no historical records showing when the ancient town was first built.

Archaeologists found a number of structural relics left by the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) but they don't believe the relics illustrate the town's origins. The city wall, 1,652 meters in length and 8.3 m in height, was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The residences inside the town are mostly houses in Ming Dynasty style.

Researchers believe the houses used to offer accommodation to military forces.

Neighboring the ancient town is a 32-square-kilometer site of about 300 Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) tombs. Researchers speculate the site was a burial ground for generals and soldiers who died in battles against invaders about 2,000 years ago.

"When I was a child, I was told the ancient town and the Great Wall were built 1,000 years ago. But recent discoveries show the history of the relics should be at least 1,000 years older than that," said Ma Yufang, Party secretary of Old Guangwu village.

With more discoveries published, Ma said the Great Wall, the ancient town and Han tombs have sparked great interest among both researchers and tourists.

"We receive hundreds of visitors every day," Ma said. "Many of them are excited to be on this site to explore the storied history related to the Great Wall and related to the ancient frontier."