Chinese cities
The construction of the Chinese cities began 5,000 years ago at least, and the ancient Chinese cities generally fell into two types: capital and ordinary cities.The ancient capitals were all laid out with the imperial palace as the center, and civilian residences in the surrounding areas; and the ordinary cities took the local administration seats of the prefectures and counties at the core, with the temples and civilian residences in the nearby areas.It is the concrete reflection of the feudal hierarchy in the construction of the Chinese cities.
Now China has only seven well-preserved ancient cities, i.e., xi’an, Nanjing, Jingzhou, Xiangyang, Xingcheng, Pingyao and Chongwu, of which xi’an and Nanjing once serves as the capital cities.In ancient China, building a city attached great importance to the military defense works.Usually, a city was encircled by high walls, which was bordered by a moat.The high city walls and wide moat were built for the safety of the city.Most of the old cities are square or rectangular; city gates were built on the four sides of the city walls; and on each city gate stood a majestic tower.In the daytime, the city gates were wide open; and at night they were all closed, making the people in the cities feel tranquil and safe.The Drum and Bell towers stood in the center of a city.In the morning, the bell was tolled; and at night the drum was beaten.In the city, the streets in the shapes of “+” or cheboard were built.In the land of water in south china, the streets and lanes by water are linked with the rivers outsides of the city, with convenient transportation facilities by land and water.Now most of the ancient cities of the past dynasties have disappeared, leaving only some ruins.Only a small number of ancient cities that still exist are the city wonders of China.The new cities in China have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain throughout the country. (From the Marvels of China)
