Where is Ming Zhongdu?

Zhongdu was located in Fengyang County, Anhui Province in the Ming Dynasty. It was the capital city built by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in Fengyang, Anhui Province, and was called Zhongdu in the Ming Dynasty. It was built in the second year of Hongwu (1369) and completed in six years. It was the political, military and cultural center in the early Ming Dynasty.

The planning and construction of Zhongdu in Ming Dynasty, inspired by Nanjing City, was large-scale and well-designed. Cities are arranged according to the levels of palaces, imperial cities and capitals, with wide and straight streets and magnificent buildings. The main buildings in the city are Hongwumen, Chengtianmen, Waijinshui Bridge, Wumen, Fengtian Hall, Gaihua Hall, Shenshen Temple, Neijinshui Bridge, Gan Qing Palace, Kunning Palace, Donghuamen and Xihuamen. Outside the city, there are sacrificial buildings such as Phoenix Mountain, Waqiu, Fang Qiu, Sun Moon Altar, and Mountain Altar.

However, the fate of Ming and Zhong is unfortunate. Due to remote geographical location, inconvenient transportation, economic depression and other reasons, Zhongdu did not become a permanent capital in the Ming Dynasty. In the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered a strike to build the capital, and then Zhongdu gradually became barren. Today, there are still relics of the Ming Dynasty, which has become an important place for historians and tourists to visit ancient culture.

Generally speaking, although both the Ming Dynasty and Zhongdu were regarded as the capitals of the Ming Dynasty for a short time, they left a valuable legacy in urban planning, architectural art and so on. Through the study of the Ming Dynasty, we can have a deeper understanding of the political, social and cultural conditions in the early Ming Dynasty.