Dàtóng

Datong stands on the northern plateau of Shanxi, where routes from the grasslands approach the Chinese heartland. Long a city of strategic importance, it was a major Ming frontier garrison and the seat of the Prince of Dai. Its temples and walls spoke of a much older history: the Huayan Temple preserved buildings and Buddhist images from the Liao and Jin periods.

In 1392 the Ming began building a palace for Zhu Gui, the Prince of Dai, on the site of the old Liao and Jin state academy. A brilliant glazed screen decorated with nine dragons stood before it. To supply the prince and the garrison, the court established military farming units around Datong. The palace was lost in the wars at the end of the Ming, but its dragon screen endured.