Ruins of Lin’an City

Ruins of Lin’an City

The ruins of Lin’an City are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ruins of Lin’an City are located on Phoenix Mountain in the southern part of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Constructed in the third year of the Jianyan era during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, the site has a square layout, covering a total area of over 10,000 square meters. It consists of large rammed earth foundations, stone walls, gate remains, and more. There were three city gates, and inside the city there were approximately 130 halls, chambers, towers, and pavilions. The main palace area is now deeply buried more than three meters below the surface, but the foundations are remarkably well preserved. The current imperial city ruins are covered by warehouses of the provincial military region’s logistics department, the municipal meteorological bureau, and residential buildings. The remaining northern palace city wall stretches over 100 meters, while the eastern palace city wall extends about 500 meters. A large rammed earth foundation was also discovered at the center of the inner palace area, and numerous relics and artifacts from the Five Dynasties to the Yuan Dynasty can still be found around the site.

The ruins of Lin’an City are of great significance for studying the politics, economy, and culture of the Southern Song Dynasty, researching the layout of the Southern Song imperial city, and exploring the development and evolution of ancient Chinese capital systems. On June 25, 2001, it was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council.

The layout of the Southern Song imperial city pioneered the concept of “palace to the south, market to the north.” In Southern Song Dynasty Hangzhou, the imperial palace was located to the south, while residences and markets were situated to the north — from Chaotian Gate (now the location of the Drum Tower) southward, a series of central government institutions including the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Three Departments and Six Ministries were arranged along the imperial axis (in the area of Yan’guan Lane), extending from north to south across the foothills of Wu Mountain, Ziyang Mountain, and Phoenix Mountain. To the north of Chaotian Gate was mainly residential. This layout best suited the realities of Hangzhou at the time. Between West Lake and the Qiantang River, the main available land for urban development lay north of Wu Mountain. Placing the imperial palace to the south left ample space for the city’s expansion to the north.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units