Shuangta District 双塔区

Setting and landscape

The Daling runs for about 20 kilometres through the district from south-west to north-east. North of the city it takes in the Damiao River (大庙河), and at Taohuatu town (桃花吐镇) it is joined by the Gudong River (顾洞河) before flowing on into Beipiao (北票). The district government describes the climate as semi-arid to semi-humid and prone to drought, with dry, windy springs, an average annual temperature of 8.4°C and average rainfall of 483.1 millimetres.

What to see

The North Pagoda (朝阳北塔) is a 13-tier brick pagoda 42.6 metres high on North Street (北大街). Around 485 Empress Feng of the Northern Wei built a wooden pagoda here on the old palace site of Longcheng (龙城), capital of the Former Yan, Later Yan and Northern Yan; the present structure wraps Sui and Tang brickwork inside a Liao shell. It was listed as a national key protected site in 1988, the year that excavation of its upper relic chamber yielded two relics of Shakyamuni Buddha and more than a thousand objects.

The South Pagoda (朝阳南塔), a square, hollow 13-tier Liao brick pagoda, is a provincial protected site. In October 2004 builders found a Liao stone relic chamber beside it; its inscription, dated 984, records relics of Shakyamuni and 18 relics of Dipankara Buddha.

Youshun Temple (佑顺寺), begun in 1699 and named by the Kangxi Emperor, is a Tibetan Buddhist temple of five courtyards; it became a national key protected site in 2006. Murong Street (慕容街), formerly Shuangta Old Street, links the two pagodas, Youshun Temple, a Guandi temple and remains of the Yan-period city wall. Its name was written by the novelist Jin Yong, and it is the government-approved place for selling fossils as souvenirs.

Fenghuang Mountain (凤凰山), east of the city, is a national forest park and 4A scenic area covering 67.84 square kilometres, with three Liao pagodas and several temples. According to the district government, the Qianlong Emperor renamed it from Dragon Mountain to Phoenix Mountain, drawing on a line in the Book of Songs, and renamed Longcheng as Chaoyang.

Food and local products

Sunjiawan town (孙家湾镇), about 10 kilometres south of the city, was named China's home of the Dapingding jujube (大平顶枣) by the Ministry of Agriculture. Its jujubes are deep red, large, small-stoned, thin-skinned and crisp, and the main growing village, Huazhangyingzi (花章营子村), lies at the southern foot of Fenghuang Mountain.

Highlights

• North Pagoda of Chaoyang 朝阳北塔: 42.6-metre, 13-tier pagoda on the Longcheng palace site; national key protected site since 1988; Buddha relics found in 1988.
• South Pagoda of Chaoyang 朝阳南塔: Liao brick pagoda; a stone relic chamber inscribed in 984 was found beside it in 2004.
• Youshun Temple 佑顺寺: Kangxi-era Tibetan Buddhist temple begun in 1699; national key protected site since 2006.
• Murong Street 慕容街: Old street joining the two pagodas and the temple; name written by Jin Yong; licensed fossil shops.
• Fenghuang Mountain 凤凰山: National forest park and 4A scenic area east of the city with three Liao pagodas.
• Sunjiawan jujubes 孙家湾大枣: Large, thin-skinned, crisp Dapingding jujubes from the town south of the city.