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The total highway mileage of Tongliao City reaches 6,939 kilometers, including 1,918 kilometers of asphalt pavement. There are 278 bridges with a total linear length of 6,774 meters. The highway density stands at 11.6 kilometers per 100 square kilometers, and Tongliao has achieved highway access to all townships. Four national highways, namely G111, G303, G304 and G204, run through the city with a combined length of 901 kilometers.

At present, an interconnected crisscross transportation network centered on Horqin District has taken shape. It connects all banners, counties and cities within Tongliao, extends to all towns and sums, and links externally to core cities including Shenyang, Changchun and Jinzhou, as well as coastal ports such as Tianjin, Dalian, Yingkou and Qinhuangdao.

Tongliao boasts an extensive railway network. Six railways — Jitong, Jingtong, Tongrang, Dazheng, Pingqi and Tonghuo — traverse the whole territory, covering more than 1,000 kilometers within the city limits. Tongliao Railway Station ranks among China’s 40 key national railway hubs. Upon completion of the ongoing secondary-class six-yard marshalling project, the station will become one of the country’s 14 major freight marshalling stations.

Tongliao Airport can accommodate medium-sized passenger aircraft. Same-day round-trip flights operate on the Ulanhot–Tongliao–Beijing–Hohhot route.

The Huolinhe Mining Area of Tongliao City sits on the main southern spur of the Greater Khingan Range. Within a hundred-li radius, rolling mountains rise with lofty ridges and deep valleys. Only the Huolinhe Mining Area features flat terrain, lush water and grass, crystal-clear springs and cool weather, making it an ideal summer pasture and military garrison site for nomadic peoples of ancient northern China.

When traveling or escaping the summer heat in Huolinhe and strolling across the fresh grasslands, visitors will spot an "earthen dragon" winding down from the northeastern mountain ranges along the Huolin River Valley. It cuts across the mining area, stretches southwestward and extends into Xilingol League. This is the historically renowned Golden Frontier Trench, commonly known as Genghis Khan’s Frontier Wall. Mounds of earth were piled into long ramparts inside the trenches, with projecting bastions built atop the ramparts. Frontier forts were erected at regular intervals along the inner side of the trench, and passes constructed at vital transport junctions, hence the collective name "Frontier Trenches and Forts".

In 1125, the Jurchen people conquered the Liao Dynasty and defeated the Song forces, establishing the Jin regime at Baichengzi (the Upper Jin Capital) in present-day Acheng District, Heilongjiang Province. This empire coexisted alongside the Southern Song Dynasty and Western Xia, dividing China into three rival powers. Shortly after its founding, nomadic tribes led by the Mongols launched repeated raids and invasions against the Jin. To consolidate its rule and fend off incursions from other ethnic groups, the Jin Dynasty began constructing the frontier trenches no later than the first year of the Tianjuan reign (1138). Construction proceeded intermittently until the third year of the Cheng’an reign (1198). Over these more than sixty years, successive Jin emperors prioritized the trench project above all other state affairs. The engineering consumed staggering sums of money and mobilized immense labor forces, a scale rarely seen throughout history.

The Golden Frontier Trench is primarily distributed across Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with minor segments in Mongolia and Russia. Most sections run from northeast to southwest, spanning roughly 2,500 kilometers in lateral coverage, while the actual total constructed length exceeds 1,000 kilometers. The entire trench system is split into a northern line and a southern line; the southern line further contains two main routes: the First Main Route and the Second Main Route. The outermost First Main Route passes through Tuquan County and Horqin Right Middle Banner, crosses the Greater Khingan Range along the upper reaches of the Huolin River, and enters Mongolia via northern Jarud Banner. The 12.5-kilometer stretch within the Huolinhe Mining Area forms a segment of this First Main Route.

In the summer of 1981, to facilitate mining area construction, the Jirem League Museum conducted surveys, excavations and clearance work on this section of trench and its affiliated forts. This marked the very first archaeological excavation of Golden Dynasty frontier trenches and forts in history. This trench segment trends northeast-southwest: entering the Huolinhe River Valley in the northeast and stretching into Xilingol League in the southwest. It meanders across low hills and grasslands of the mining zone. Sections built on hill ridges are relatively low, while those on flat plains stand taller and are fitted with bastions. Each trench complex consists of two components: an earthen rampart and an excavated ditch.

Archaeological cross-section excavations yielded precise dimensional data:

Two frontier forts remain within the mining area: The first stands on the western edge of the mining zone, overlooking the frontier trench to the west and bordering grasslands to the east. Its city walls and moat retain clear outlines and are well-preserved. The south wall measures 192 m, east wall 190 m, north wall 191 m, west wall 187 m, with a total perimeter of 760 m. All walls were rammed with loess, dense and solid; despite a thousand years of wind and rain erosion, they still stand over 3 meters tall. A city gate sits at the midpoint of the east wall, approximately 4 meters wide. One bastion projects from the midpoint of each southern, western and northern wall, with a corner tower erected at every city corner. Scattered across the interior are foundations of residential buildings, mostly rectangular with a small number circular, grouped into roughly eighteen regularly arranged clusters. A tall central platform served as a watchtower and command post. Three stone-lined wells retain intact bottoms with clear spring water, though their upper portions have collapsed. A crisscross road network covers the fort, including a main cross thoroughfare connecting the gate and three bastions, plus narrow lanes linking house foundations to the main streets.

The second fort lies at the heart of the mining area, Zhusihua, and is also well-preserved. Its south wall stretches 203 m, east wall 205 m, north wall 201 m, west wall 202 m, forming a perimeter of 811 m. Its architectural layout mirrors the first fort. Three building foundations inside mark ancient residential sites, alongside two stone-built wells for garrison soldiers’ daily water supply.

Massive cultural relics were unearthed from both forts. Most artifacts are shattered by long-term weathering, rendering their original shapes unrecognizable. Over 260 intact or partially identifiable pieces were recovered, categorized as follows:

Based on records in History of the Jin Dynasty, relevant historical documents and archaeological analysis, this stretch of frontier trench and forts in the Huolinhe Mining Area was under the administration of Linhuang Prefecture, and construction was completed prior to the twenty-first year of the Dading reign (1181 AD).