Ruins of the Southern Gate of the “Three Yan” Palace City

　　The ruins of the southern gate of the “Three Yan” palace city date back 1,663 years and are of great significance for researching the history of the ancient Xianbei ethnic group: ancient Northeast Asia was once influenced by the Xianbei people, yet historically there have been few relics to study this ethnic group. These ruins can deepen our understanding of Xianbei history and its influence in the Northeast Asian region.

　　The city of Chaoyang was established in 341 AD and historically known as “Dragon City.” It served as the capital of the Former Yan, Later Yan, and Northern Yan (collectively referred to as the “Three Yan”) during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Two Jin Dynasties in ancient China. During the Tang Dynasty, it was a key military stronghold in the northeast, and was abandoned in the Yuan Dynasty. The southern gate ruins of the “Three Yan” palace city are located along the north-south axis of the old city area of Chaoyang. The gate structure features three passageways. According to the hierarchical system of ancient China, only the gates of capital cities were permitted to have three passageways. Based on this, it is inferred that this section of the gate was the southern gate built when the Former Yan first constructed Dragon City.

　　Archaeological excavations have also uncovered multiple sets of buildings from the Sui and Tang dynasties, large-scale architectural remains from the Liao and Jin periods, urban drainage systems predating the Liao Dynasty, and a large quantity of pottery, porcelain, and ironware. Walls extending eastward and westward flank the site, faintly revealing the bustling prosperity and advanced urban planning system of “Dragon City” in its heyday. Through research conducted by the archaeological team on the gate ruins and other unearthed artifacts, it has been determined that the gate structure underwent renovations and expansions during the Northern Wei, Tang, and Liao periods.

　　Starting in 2003, the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted intensive surveys and excavations on the west side of Chaoyang’s North Avenue. In addition to the gate ruins, they discovered important relics such as buildings, roads, canals, and wells over 1,000 years old, as well as more than 1,000 artifacts including pottery, porcelain, bone tools, stone Buddhist statues, and stone reliquaries housing Buddhist sarira. Among the unearthed items were also cultural and social life artifacts reflecting the society of the time, such as bone combs, stone Go pieces, fishing net weights, copper scissors, and various human head figurines.