The Southeast Of Datong Ancient City Silk Road Tower
THE SOUTHEAST OF DATONG ANCIENT CITY SILK ROAD TOWER
XJ Design Agency
ARCHITECTS
Xj Design Agency
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Xj Design Agency
DYNAMIC SCREEN DEEPENING CONSTRUCTION
Chongqing Yitong Metal Products Co., Ltd.
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR
Luzhou Hongmao Engineering Project Management Co., Ltd.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Chongqing Lianchuang Architectural Planning And Design Co., Ltd.
CLIENT
Huaxia Jianghong (Datong) Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Guowei Liu, Can Yang
AREA
4350 m²
YEAR
2025
LOCATION
Datong, China
CATEGORY
Installations & Structures
English description provided by the architects.
In Pingcheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the historical coordinate at the eastern end of the Silk Road, the starting point where the camel bells rang melodiously.
Here, we have erected a modern cultural landmark named "Silk Road Tower" - it is not merely a frozen memorial, but rather a vivid growth and continuous iteration of cultural genes in the torrent of technology.
CORE CONCEPT: THE STARTING POINT OF GROWTH, THE TRAJECTORY OF ITERATION
The design soul of the Silk Road Tower is deeply rooted in the dual concepts of "growth" and "iteration".
It not only serves as a historical anchor point for the 0-kilometer starting point of the Silk Road in the Northern Wei Dynasty, but also symbolizes the vigorous vitality of the Silk Road spirit over the course of time.
By integrating modern cutting-edge technologies, we attempt to give new expressions to the ancient cultural symbols.
FORMAL LANGUAGE: THE STARTING POINT OF SOLIDIFICATION, THE OPEN JOURNEY
The tower body grows upwards with a solemn and refined geometric shape.
Its height of 14 meters integrates into the urban scale while maintaining a sense of monumental commemoration.
The stable base bears the sense of historical accumulation, and the prominent "0-kilometer starting point" sign elevates the geographical coordinate to an eternal spiritual origin.
The dome structure on top opens grand domed doors in six directions, not only being an architectural vocabulary but also an embodiment of the Silk Road spirit - starting from Pingcheng, it extends its embrace to Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, and even more distant worlds, symbolizing the eternal themes of openness, inclusiveness, and interconnection.
TECHNOLOGICAL PULSE: DYNAMIC NARRATION, FUTURE INTERFACE
The nine-story main body of the Silk Road Tower is a pioneering canvas that blends culture and technology:
Dynamic Skin: The nine-story tower is constructed with steel structures and covered by advanced LED screens, forming a huge continuous display surface.
This is not a static curtain wall; rather, it is a "smart canvas" driven by a sophisticated computer system. Each floor is equipped with an independent hydraulic drive system.
Life Rhythm: Every minute, the hydraulic system gives the tower a "breath" - the LED screen units elegantly unfold and reorganize according to precise instructions, breaking the static outline of the building.
This regular dynamic performance is both a wonderful transformation of the physical form and a flowing theater of digital content.
The screen images are then synchronized, presenting the Silk Road epic of deserts with solitary smoke and long rivers with setting sun, or showcasing the brilliant scenes of contemporary "Digital Silk Road", or depicting the growth and transformation of abstract cultural symbols.
Time and Space Dialogue: This continuous process of "growth - unfolding - performance" is the intuitive metaphor of the "iteration" concept of Silk Road culture.
The precise coordination of LED content and mechanical movement constructs an immersive narrative field that spans and dialogues with the future.
THE CONVERGENCE OF MEANING: NEW SOUNDS OF PINGCHENG, SUSTAINABLE SILK ROAD
The Silk Road Tower stands in the former territory of the Northern Wei Dynasty, rooted deep in history yet embracing the future with the most cutting-edge posture.
Through modern architectural language and technological means, it conveys a concept: The open, exchange, and cooperation spirit represented by the Silk Road still has vitality in the contemporary era and can continue to develop and rejuvenate through new technological forms.
The spirit of the Silk Road will continue to illuminate the magnificent journey of human civilization exchange and mutual learning in the new era.
The Silk Road Tower not only remembers the glorious past of Pingcheng as the starting point of the Silk Road, but also, with its constantly "growing" form and "iterative" core, becomes a path pointing to infinite possibilities - a digital Silk Road that starts from the Northern Wei Pingcheng and extends infinitely towards the stars and the vast sea.
