Ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City

Ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City

The Ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City is a key cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province. It is located in the area around Songcheng Road at the eastern foot of Fenghuang Mountain in southern Hangzhou. The imperial city had three gates: the Lizheng Gate to the south, the Hening Gate to the north, and the Donghua Gate to the east. Within the imperial city, majestic palaces stood in grandeur and splendor. These included the Golden Hall (Jinluan Hall), Chui'gong Hall, Xuande Hall, Funing Hall, Qinzheng Hall, and Fugu Hall, along with approximately 130 other halls, chambers, and pavilions. In addition, there were magnificent imperial gardens that extended all the way to the summit of Fenghuang Mountain. In the 14th year of the Zhiyuan era during the Yuan Dynasty (1277), a fire that started among the common folk spread to the site and burned it to the ground, leaving only ruins by the Ming Dynasty. Currently, the site hosts large structures such as military barracks and the Hangzhou Cigarette Factory, as well as residential buildings. National cultural heritage authorities are conducting archaeological excavations on the site. The imperial gardens within Fenghuang Mountain feature numerous stone carvings and rock formations, and plans are underway to develop the area into the "Southern Song Imperial Palace Ruins Park."

The interior of the imperial city can be divided into two sections: inside the palace city and outside the palace city. The area within the palace city is subdivided into the court assembly zone, the inner sleeping quarters zone, the imperial garden zone, the palace service zone, the Donghua Gate palace zone, and the Cining Palace zone. The area outside the palace city mainly includes the North Palace Gate zone, the Donghua Gate service zone, the Eastern Palace zone, and the internal government office zone, among others. According to the latest delineation and measurements by relevant departments in Hangzhou, the comprehensive protection project for the large ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City covers an area bounded by the Qiantang River to the south, Qingchun Road to the north, Zhonghe River (site of the Shouxi Palace) to the east, and Hupao Road – Nanshan Road – Jiefang Road – Yan’an Road line to the west. Compared to the initially defined scope, this expanded area now includes the Shouxi Palace ruins, bringing the total area from the original 13.8 square kilometers to 14.1 square kilometers.

The core area, which is the Ruins of the Southern Song Imperial City itself, spans approximately 500,000 square meters. It extends from the eastern foot of Mantou Mountain in the east, to Fenghuang Mountain in the west, from the area around Songcheng Road in the south, to the southern part of Wansongling Road in the north.

Court Assembly Zone

The location has been largely confirmed by archaeological data. The longer front section consists of the parallel Chui'gong Hall and Daqing Hall. The long rammed earth platform behind the Daqing Hall is due to the presence of rear halls and the Yanhé Hall behind it. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Chui'gong Hall was converted into Baoguo Temple, and by that time the Daqing Hall may have already been destroyed, so the Yanhé Hall was repurposed as Xiaoxianlin Temple. The layout still essentially followed two axial lines.

The front section of the L-shaped rammed earth platform is 112 meters in total length, with the western protruding section being 46 meters long. Historical records indicate that the Chui'gong Hall and Daqing Hall in the court assembly zone of the imperial city had identical layouts and were situated side by side at the front end of the L-shaped rammed earth platform, with the western protrusion being the Chui'gong Hall. From front to back, the L-shaped rammed earth platform successively housed the Daqing Hall, rear hall, and Yanhé Hall (remodeled from side rooms of the rear hall during Emperor Xiaozong’s reign), consistent with the “Three Great Halls” layout of the imperial court’s main assembly area (such as the Taihe, Zhonghe, and Baohe Halls in Beijing’s Forbidden City). The two subsequent sections of the rammed earth platform behind the L-shape are speculated, based on historical texts, to be part of the inner sleeping quarters zone—that is, the platforms of the Funing Palace and Kunning Palace.

Inner Sleeping Quarters Zone

Along the central axis behind the main rammed earth platform of the Daqing Hall are two more sections of rammed earth, believed to be the Funing Palace zone according to historical records. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Funing Palace was converted into Zunseng Temple, which featured a white pagoda and a riverside pavilion. The Yuan Dynasty traveler Guo Bi wrote in his Diary of a Visitor to Hangzhou: “The gate of Zunseng Temple, commonly known as the riverside pavilion, offers a view overlooking the Qiantang River.” Based on the author’s travel route—visiting the Bore Temple first and then Zunseng Temple from north to south—the temple was located on a high northern ridge. This suggests that the rammed earth platform, especially its northern section, formed the inner sleeping quarters area dominated by the Funing Palace.

Donghua Gate Palace Zone

The Donghua Gate palaces were mainly used for the emperor’s private audiences with ministers. The main hall was the Xuande Hall. The Xianchun Lin’an Annals record Zhou Bida’s Xuande Hall Inscription: “A hall was uniquely established to the east within the forbidden enclosure and named Xuande.” The Xuande Hall was an important venue during Emperor Xiaozong’s reign. Zhou Bida noted: “At noon, I enter the Donghua Gate, pass the Xuande Hall, and behind it lies the sports field. Directly opposite is the main hall called Shuitang, with the Lotus Pavilion to its left and the Soaring Pavilion to its right.” After the fall of the Song Dynasty, this architectural complex became Xingyuan Temple, centered around the Lotus Pavilion.

Palace Service Zone

This refers to the buildings along both sides of the road stretching from the North Palace Gate to the side entrance of the Chui'gong Hall. It housed institutions such as the Imperial Kitchen, Imperial Wine Cellar, Imperial Pharmacy, Inner East Gate Office, and Workshop. According to texts like the Record of the Southern Crossing Imperial Palaces and the Dream Record of Lin’an, the entire zone was likely situated on the mountain-facing western side.

Further Reading:

· Zhejiang Province’s First Batch of Provincial Archaeological Site Parks