Jin Zhongdu Water Gate Ruins

　　The Jin Zhongdu Water Gate Ruins are located at No. 40, Yulin Residential Area, outside You’anmen in Fengtai District, about 50 meters north of the Liangshui River. They were built during the Jin Dynasty. In June 2001, they were designated as part of the fifth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.

　　The Jin Zhongdu Water Gate was constructed between 1151 and 1153 during the building of the Jin Zhongdu capital. It served as an aqueduct structure beneath the ancient city walls that allowed river water to flow through. Built on layers of sand within the alluvial plain of the Yongding River, the water gate featured a stone-and-timber structure. The ruins represent the remains of the southern section of the Jin Zhongdu water gate. The upper portions of the site have been destroyed, but the preserved base is relatively intact. It mainly consists of five parts: wooden piles and planks under the city wall’s water culvert, floor stones, remnants of the stone walls on both sides inside the tunnel, four side supports flanking the inlet and outlet, and the remaining rammed earth city wall above the water gate. The entire structure spans 43.4 meters in length, with the water culvert measuring 21 meters long and 7.7 meters wide, laid out in an "eight" shape oriented from north to south. The northern end is the inlet, while the southern end is the outlet. It is inferred that the ruins were destroyed during the mid-to-late Yuan Dynasty.

　　The Jin Zhongdu Water Gate Ruins are currently the largest ancient capital water gate ruins discovered in China and the only intact architectural site from the Jin Zhongdu period. They serve as important physical evidence for identifying the location and water system of the Jin Zhongdu capital. The ruins also reflect the craftsmanship of urban architecture during the Jin Zhongdu era and provide significant insights for the study of ancient Chinese architecture and hydraulic engineering. Furthermore, the discovery of the Jin Zhongdu Water Gate Ruins allows for the approximate reconstruction of the origin, flow direction, and location of a major waterway in historic Jin Zhongdu. This confirms that the construction of Jin Zhongdu largely followed the official architectural styles of Bianjing (Kaifeng) during the Song Dynasty, which holds important significance for the historical geography research of Beijing.

　　The ruins were discovered in 1990 and were named one of the top ten archaeological discoveries of that year in China. In 1991, the Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics conducted excavations at the site, and subsequently, the “Beijing Liao-Jin City Wall Museum” was built upon it to protect the water gate ruins in situ. The museum officially opened to the public on April 23, 1995. (Source: Publicity Department of Fengtai District Committee)