Dolon Nor, also known as Dolonnur and previously as To-lun and Lama-Miao,[1] is a town and the county seat of Duolun County, Xilin Gol League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, China. It is of historical importance because the remnants of Shangdu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan and the following Mongol emperors of the Yuan dynasty (13th and 14th century), are located some 28 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of the modern town. Beginning in the 17th century, the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty developed the city as a religious center.[2]

Dolon Nor
多伦淖尔镇
Dolon Nor is located in Inner Mongolia
Dolon Nor
Dolon Nor
Location in Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 42°12′24″N 116°29′05″E / 42.20667°N 116.48472°E / 42.20667; 116.48472
CountryChina
RegionInner Mongolia
LeagueXilin Gol
CountyDuolun County
Elevation
1,237 m (4,058 ft)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
027300
Area code0479
Dolon Nor
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese多倫淖爾
多倫
Simplified Chinese多伦淖尔
多伦
Literal meaningMongolian for "Seven Lakes"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDuōlúnnào'ěr
Duōlún
Wade–GilesTo-lun-nao-erh
To-lun
Mongolian name
Mongolian CyrillicДолоон нуур
Mongolian scriptᠳᠣᠯᠣᠨ ᠨᠤᠤᠷ
Transcriptions
SASM/GNCDoloon nuur
Doluɣan Naɣur
Former names
Lama-Miao
Traditional Chinese喇嘛廟
Simplified Chinese喇嘛庙
Literal meaningLamasery
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǎmamiào
Wade–GilesLa-ma-miao

In the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the city was described as follows:

The town proper almost exclusively occupied by Chinese, is about a mile in length by half a mile in breadth, has narrow and dirty streets, and contains a population of about 26,000. Unlike the ordinary Chinese town of the same rank, it is not walled. A busy trade is carried on between the Chinese and the Mongolians, who bring in their cattle, sheep, camels, hides and wool to barter for tea, tobacco, cotton and silk. At some distance from the Chinese town lies the Mongolian quarter, with two groups of lama temples and villages occupied by about 2300 priests. Dr Williamson (Journeys in North China, 1870) described the chief temple as a huge oblong building with an interior not unlike a Gothic church. Lamamiao is the seat of a manufactory of bronze idols and other articles of ritual, which find their way to all parts of Mongolia and Tibet. The craftsmen work in their own houses.[3]

Another, longer description of the city is in writings of Évariste Huc (1813–1860), a Frenchman who stayed there in 1845 on his way to Lhasa (which he reached after 18 months of travelling).[citation needed]

In 1933, the town was the object of fighting between the Japanese and their Manchukuoan puppet troops and the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army.[citation needed]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^   Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lama-Miao". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ To-lun, The Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed 18 May 2007.
  3. ^ Chisholm (1911).