A possible role of sunrise/sunset azimuth in the planning of ancient Chinese towns

TL;DR

This paper explores how ancient Chinese towns may have been intentionally aligned with sunrise and sunset azimuths during solstices, revealing a potential solar influence in their planning beyond simple cardinal orientation.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that ancient Chinese urban planning incorporated solar azimuths, supported by analysis of several historical town layouts.

Findings

Some towns show alignment with solstice sunrise/sunset azimuths

Evidence suggests solar orientation influenced town planning decisions

Analysis of Xi'an, Khanbalik, and Dali supports solar alignment hypothesis

Abstract

In the planning of some Chinese towns we can see an evident orientation with the cardinal north-south direction. However, other features reveal a possible orientation with the sunrise/sunset azimuth on solstices too, as in the case of Shangdu (Xanadu), the summer capital of Kublai Khan. Here we discuss some other examples of a possible solar orientation in the planning of ancient towns. We will analyze the plans of Xi'an, Khanbalik and Dali.