Yuwang City Ruins

Contact: 0359-2022380

Best Travel Season: Summer is the best time for travelling in Shanxi Province.

Complaint Hotline: 0359-2085615

Transportation here is quite convenient. The Tongpu and Houxi trunk railways serve as the major traffic arteries in this region, together with a branch railway running from Liyuan to Gudui. Highways radiate outward centred on Yuncheng City. Major highways include Taiyuan–Maojindu, Jincheng–Yumenkou, Linyi–Daning and Yuncheng–Fenglingdu. Branch highways connect Wenxi with Yongji, and Fenglingdu with Pinglu. The expressways linking Yuncheng to Sanmenxia and Yuncheng to Fenglingdu have been opened to traffic, while the Datong–Yuncheng Expressway is still under construction.

Trains depart from Yuncheng for Beijing, Xi’an, Tianjin, Chengdu, Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, Datong, Linfen and other cities.

National Highway 209 passes through Yuncheng, leading to Sanmenxia City in Henan Province and Huayin City in Shaanxi Province. Long-distance buses bound for Wutai Mountain leave Taiyuan Long-distance Bus Station every 35 minutes. If you travel to Wutai Mountain from Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Jinan, Shijiazhuang, Xi’an or Zhengzhou, you may first take an express train to Taiyuan, then catch a direct coach from Wuyi Square in Taiyuan to Wutai Mountain.

There are direct flights to Taiyuan from major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Xi’an. Upon arrival in Taiyuan, visitors can take long-distance buses from Wuyi Square to Wutai Mountain.

Since neither trains nor planes can reach Wutai Mountain directly, road passenger transport is particularly important. Travellers can get off at Shahe, Fanshi, Dai County or Yuanping on the Beijing–Yuanping Railway and transfer to buses heading for Wutai Mountain with great ease. Buses to Wutai Mountain are also available at Ningwu and Yuanping on the North Tongpu Railway between Datong and Taiyuan. Xinzhou operates multiple long-distance buses to Wutai Mountain every day. Direct coaches run from Fuping in Hebei Province to Taihuai Town of Wutai Mountain, and daily shuttle buses travel between Taihuai Town and Taiyuan.

The peak tourist period falls during the Wutai Mountain June Fair (from the first day of the sixth lunar month to the tenth day of the seventh lunar month). Extra tourist buses are arranged from nearby counties and towns, including Dongye, Yangquan, Fuping, Fanshi, Yuanping and Shahe.

The ruins are located in Yuwang Township, Xia County. According to legend, this was the residential site of Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty. The terrain of Yuwang City slopes upward from south to north, consisting of three cities: the outer city, the middle city and the inner city. The outer city was built in the Warring States Period, where a large number of pottery shards from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, such as jars and basins, have been unearthed. The middle city was constructed a little later than the outer city. Cloud-patterned tile ends and inscribed bricks were discovered here. Bronze wares and pottery dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties were excavated in the inner city. North of the city lie the ruins of Jie of Xia’s legendary "wine pond and meat forest".