The Xingcheng Ancient City is one of the best-preserved Ming Dynasty walled cities in China — a genuine grid of grey-brick streets within intact walls, its four original gates still standing, its Confucian temple and drum tower still functioning as they were intended. Completed in 1428 under the reign of the Xuande Emperor, the city was one of a chain of fortifications guarding the approach to Beijing from the northeast.
What makes Xingcheng unusual among China's "ancient cities" is that it has not been comprehensively theme-parked. People still live within the walls, and the lanes between the preserved monuments are ordinary residential streets with the usual domestic activity. You pay separately for the wall circuit and the temple buildings inside; the lanes themselves are free to wander. The wall walk, about three kilometres in circuit, takes roughly an hour and offers rooftop views over the tiled roofs of the interior and out to the Bohai Sea. The Confucian temple is one of the best-preserved in northeast China and is worth the entry fee.