长城词典·宣化城宣化城历史悠久，唐代即开始建城，到明代成为边防九镇之一的军事重镇—宣府镇。经过历代扩建修筑，至明正统年间宣化城的周长已经达到12公里。城内清远楼（钟楼）、镇逆楼（鼓楼）等，为我国古代建筑的瑰宝。作为九边冲要之地，宣府曾经发生过许多重大的历史事件，1449年土木之变中，瓦剌首领也先挟英宗想进城遭拒；1636年李自成率领农民起义军占领宣府城，受到欢迎；1900年八国联军打进北京，慈禧太后挟光绪帝西逃至此居住三日；义和团聚义抗击八国联军，杀死了德军上校约克。 Great Wall dictionary·Xuanhua CityXuanhua City has a long history with its early construction in the Tang Dynasty，became one of the most important military border defense towns out of nine in the Ming Dynasty. After many dynasties’ construction and expansion，it extended as far as 12 miles in the reign of Zhengtong. The bell tower and drum tower in Xuanhua City are considered as our ancient architectural gems. As a critical strategic point，many significant historical events took place here. For example，Xuanhua City has witnessed the Battle of Tumu Bu in 1449，the peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng in 1636，and the Eight-Power Allied Forces’ invasion of Beijing in 1900. In 1900，Empress Cixi （dowager） escaped with emperor Guangxu and lived in Xuanhua City for 3 days. It was also the site that a German colonel got killed by boxers who fought against the Eight-Power Allied Forces.
