"In Tongwan City, Gao returns to ancient China to relate an epic saga of murder and compassion in the grassland kingdom of the ancient Chinese frontier. Gao also tells a parallel story of Buddhism blooming in the center of Chinese life. Gao weaves into this tale seminal themes of Chinese history and culture: the connection between the Huns of northern China and their cousins who terrorized Europe in the fifth century, the Great Wall that was built to separate these nomad warriors from the Han Chinese, and the philosophy that ultimately united them"--Page 2 of dust jacket.

Sixteen centuries ago, the last chieftain of the Xiongnu sought to unite China by force. The warlord Helian Bobo orders an impregnable city to be built, becoming the capital of an empire that will finally unite China. Tongwancheng (unite all nations), or Tongwan City, would be built with thick outer walls made white with clay and powdered rice, giving the city the appearance of a giant ship. Helian will stop at nothing to build his city and his empire, drafting 100,000 Xiongnu to build his citadel. Tongwancheng might become Helian Bobo's legacy, but will it be enough to unite China under one ruler?