The tile-end, or wadang, is an important component of ancient Chinese architecture. It is semicircular or circular, with decorated patterns or characters. 

This tile-end with kui-dragon design of the Qin Dynasty was unearthed at the Jiangnyushi sites of the temporary imperial palace of the Qin and Han Dynasties in Suizhong in the 1980s. 

The tile-end shown above is a major arc carved with high-relief kui-dragon design on the front. It is the largest tile-end excavated in China to date, hence, it has become known as “the king of tile-ends”. 

This kind of tile-end has been found only in the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum in Lintong, Shaanxi Province, and Suizhong, Liaoning Province. It was used exclusively in the royal architecture of the Qin Dynasty. This level of design standardization is rarely seen in China. 

Archaeologists have concluded that it was part of the Jieshi Palace, where Qin Shi Huang lodged temporarily during his tour of inspection in the east.

The Jiangnyushi sites of the temporary imperial palace of the Qin and Han Dynasties in Suizhong cover an area of 25 square kilometers, and include six palace sites in Shibeidi, Heishantou, Wazidi, Jinsitun, Zhimaowan, and Zhoujiananshan. It can be ranked as one of the three major architectural projects in the Qin Dynasty together with the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Epang Palace. In 1999, it was listed by the National Cultural Heritage Administration as one of the national great heritage’s exhibition parks.

These palace sites are located in the bay area. The Shibeidi site forms the main body, with the Heishantou and the Zhimaowan sites as its wings. These sites are designed in line with “one palace and two watchtowers,” resembling the shape of an embrace. Overlooking the Jieshi standing stones in the sea, the sites are grand in scale and magnificent, reflecting the splendour and authority of the royalty.  

In 215 B.C., Qin Shi Huang, who had just defeated six other states and unified China, viewed the sea from Jieshi, in Suizhong. According to historical records, Han Wu Di built a sea-viewing pavilion here, “the Han Wu Pavilion”.

Qin Shi Huang and Han Wu Di’s eastward inspection tours of Liaoxi County (including presently Liaoning Province) were a strategic state policy that laid the foundation for their reigns.  

The two emperors’ inspection tours in the east also marked the beginning of the transformation of the native culture in the Liaohe River basin into the state and the prefecture-county cultures of the early Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty. 

The ancient Liaoning’s entrance into the Han culture circle inaugurated the integration and development of the county culture of the Han Dynasty and the various cultures of northern ethnic groups.