Wulanbutong · General Paozi—The Battlefield of the Qing-Zun War

At the final stop of the Wulanbutong Scenic Area, we arrived at the famous General Paozi, a lake deeply nestled in the heart of the grasslands. It is open on all sides, with lush water plants and beautiful scenery. Cattle and sheep stroll leisurely alongside horse-drawn carts across the vast wilderness. Facing such a peaceful and serene scene, who would have thought that over 300 years ago, it was here that a decisive battle was fought, determining the fate of two empires and two peoples.

At the end of the 17th century, Galdan, the great khan of the Dzungar tribe rising from the Ili grasslands, had unified the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, establishing the unprecedentedly powerful Dzungar Khanate. It became the dominant power in Central Asia. Correspondingly, the Qing Dynasty, rising from the land of the White Mountains and Black Waters, under Emperor Kangxi’s rule, had quelled the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, reclaimed Taiwan, and curbed the expansion of the Tsarist Russia in the northeast. The Qing’s national strength was flourishing, becoming the dominant power in East Asia. After completing internal consolidation, both great powers simultaneously turned their attention to the Mongolian grasslands.

For the Qing, the Manchu-Mongol alliance was the foundation of imperial rule. Stability on the Mongolian Plateau allowed the Qing to focus all their energy on the Central Plains without worrying about the grasslands. For Galdan, who aspired to revive the glory of the Golden family and dreamed of leading the Mongols to new heights, conquering the Mongolian Plateau and then advancing into the Central Plains was his lifelong ambition.

Taking advantage of the stalemate between the Qing and Tsarist Russia in the northeast, Galdan personally led his army from Ili, crossing the Altai Mountains. Within a year, he swept across the northern desert, advancing all the way to the Greater Khingan Range. The grassland tribes surrendered, and Galdan, with his military might, marched south along the western foothills of the Greater Khingan grassland corridor, reaching Wulanbutong, just a stone’s throw from Beijing. The Qing court was shaken. Emperor Kangxi, having just signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk, decided to lead the expedition himself. The Dzungars and the Qing, Manchus and Mongols, clashed in Wulanbutong in a decisive battle that would determine the fate of the world.

At Wulanbutong, Galdan deployed his famous camel formation that had swept the world, while Emperor Kangxi brought artillery. Contrary to popular imagination, by 1690, the war between the Qing and Dzungars was no longer just traditional cavalry clashes but had entered the era of firearms and hot weapons. With superior firearms, thorough preparation, and high morale, the Qing army decisively defeated Galdan at Wulanbutong and pursued him all the way to Kobdo in western Mongolia. This battle broke the upward momentum of the Dzungars, seized the Mongolian Plateau, and gained the upper hand in imperial competition. Over the next half-century, under the reigns of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong emperors, the Qing steadily expanded westward and, during the Qianlong era, completed the genocidal destruction of the Dzungar Khanate. The Qing royal family became the most powerful rulers in East and Central Asia in history, while the Dzungar Mongols became a historical term. All of this began on the ancient battlefield of Wulanbutong.

Today, the smoke of war has long since cleared at the Wulanbutong ancient battlefield, but the scenery remains picturesque. General Paozi is vast, with a mirror-like water surface, located in a low-lying area surrounded by gently rolling hills covered with grasslands and almost no trees. This is the purest grassland landscape in all of Wulanbutong. Because of General Paozi, local herders bring their livestock here to drink, so besides natural scenery, you can also see many cattle and sheep and experience the life of the herders firsthand.

From the parking lot, follow the tourist trail to General Paozi. Along the way stretches an endless grassland, with smoke rising from scattered Mongolian yurts and herds of cattle and sheep leisurely strolling. The setting sun casts a golden glow over everything. In this peaceful scene, if it weren’t for the stone monument of the Wulanbutong ancient battlefield by the lake, who would imagine the fierce smoke of war that once filled the sky here?

Post by VoyagingDreamer | Oct 17, 2025