Remains of the Zhangdian Ancient City

Remains of the Zhangdian Ancient City

The remains of the Zhangdian Ancient City are a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

The remains of the Zhangdian Ancient City were discovered as early as 1972 and consist of two sections: a larger city and a smaller one. The large city is approximately 340 meters long from north to south and about 240 meters wide from east to west. The smaller city is located to the south of the large city, measuring roughly 140 meters in length from east to west and about 113 meters in width from north to south, covering an area of about 100,000 square meters. In January 1983, local farmers accidentally discovered a horseshoe-shaped gold ingot near the village. Based on artifacts unearthed both inside and outside the city, it has been determined that the Zhangdian Han City site was first established during the Warring States period, flourished during the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, and continued to be used during the Liao and Jin periods.

In 2009, an archaeological team jointly formed by Liaoning Province and Dalian City conducted excavations around the Han tombs in the area of the Zhangdian Ancient City ruins, clearing and exploring a total of 212 Han dynasty tombs. Over 2,000 cultural relics were unearthed, including jade burial masks, gilded bronze deer-shaped weights, and jade burial masks among others.

Tombs serve as testimonies to history. The massive scale and rich collection of relics at the Zhangdian site are extremely rare, indicating that the Zhangdian Han City was a densely populated and highly prosperous urban center 2,000 years ago. Its economic and cultural level was even higher than that of Liaodong Commandery during the Han Dynasty.

On June 22, 2017, archaeological and historical experts from across China convened in Pulandian District, Dalian, to hold a conference. They engaged in extensive and in-depth discussions regarding a proposal put forward by Professor Wang Yulang, Director of the Northeast China History Research Center at Dalian University. The proposal concerned whether the Zhangdian Han City in Pulandian was the administrative seat of the Han Dynasty’s Canghai Commandery, as well as how to protect and utilize the Zhangdian Han City ruins in the future. Experts unanimously agreed that the Zhangdian Han City was indeed the administrative center of the Canghai Commandery during Emperor Wu of Han’s reign. This conclusion is more scientific and reasonable, and is supported by stronger evidence compared to previous theories proposed by scholars both in China and abroad. The Zhangdian Han City in Pulandian should rightfully be regarded as the site of the Canghai Commandery from the Western Han period. Its construction may even predate the Western Han, as cultural relics from the Warring States period have been found within the Zhangdian ancient city. Consequently, the starting point of Dalian’s urban historical chronology should be moved back to the establishment of the Canghai Commandery in 128 BC, during the first year of Emperor Wu’s Yuanshuo era. This conclusion challenges many previously held historical “common knowledge.” It not only implies that the history of the Dalian region can be traced back to 128 BC, but also suggests that Dalian was already a central city at the commandery level 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty.

In 2019, the remains of the Zhangdian Ancient City were included in the eighth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level