Friendship Village Tomb Cluster

Friendship Village Tomb Cluster

The Friendship Village Tomb Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Friendship Village Tomb Cluster is situated on an east-west oriented gentle ridge that extends from Friendship Village to Zhengjia Village in Baishan Township, Lishu County. It stretches 4.3 km from east to west and 2.5 km from north to south. More than ten brick-chambered tombs have been identified so far (not including those damaged earlier). In the eastern part of Hujia Tun, Zhengjia Village, two brick-chambered tombs were found (looted in the summer of 1995)—one rectangular and the other octagonal (with murals). Friendship Village, formerly known as Gaoli Fen Tun, has nine brick-chambered tombs (excluding those damaged in early years). These are located on the southern slope of the gentle ridge to the northwest of the village, near a settlement site from the Liao and Jin dynasties, which may have been the residence of tomb-guarding households. The octagonal mural tomb on the eastern side of Hujia Tun, Zhengjia Village, features a bull’s head in its tomb passage, and its interior murals depict corridors—an artistic theme distinct from other known Liao dynasty mural tombs, possibly indicating that it is the tomb of a Xian tribal leader from Jiubai Xiyin during the late Liao period. Brick-chambered tombs in Friendship Village often contain urns made of gray pottery or evidence of multiple secondary burials. On the western side of Friendship Village, there is a stone sheep lying beside the road, likely one of the tomb’s guardian statues. The village was originally named “Gaoli Fen” (Korean Tomb), showing that local residents have long recognized this area as an ancient burial ground. In the 1960s, locals damaged 4–5 brick-chambered tombs while digging wells, using the bricks to build pigsties and pave roads. Artifacts such as pottery jars, imitation Ding porcelain bowls, chicken-leg bottles, and bronze mirrors unearthed at the time have since been lost. Given the vast distribution of the tomb cluster, the presence of an octagonal mural tomb and stone tomb guardians, as well as its proximity to the historical sites of Jiubai Xiyin from the Liao dynasty and Han State from the Jin dynasty—including Piànliǎn City in Lishu County—the cluster holds significant historical value for studying the establishment of Jiubai Xiyin and Han State. On February 26, 1999, the Jilin Provincial People's Government designated the Liaoyuan Tombs of Friendship as a Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

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Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units