Ruins of Jin Zhongdu

　　The ruins of Jin Zhongdu are located in Yulin Residential Area, outside You’anmen in Fengtai District, Beijing. The Zhongdu city served as the capital of the Jin Dynasty for over 60 years and also marks the beginning of Beijing’s history as an imperial capital. The city of Zhongdu had a perimeter of over 37 li, nearly square in shape, with its former site roughly covering most of the western part of present-day Xuanwu District. Its northern wall lay within the southern boundary of today’s Xicheng District, about 1 li from Fuxingmenwai Avenue. The general orientation of the Jin Zhongdu ruins is as follows: starting from You’anmen and following the city moat westward to Fenghuangzui Village marks the southwestern corner of the city; Huangtingzi outside Fuxingmen is the northwestern corner; Cuihua Street inside Xuanwumen is the northeastern corner; and Silutong outside the Yongdingmen Gap is the southeastern corner. The city had twelve gates: Shiren, Xuanyao, Yangchun, Jingfeng, Fengyi, Duanli, Lizé, Haohua, Zhangyi, Huicheng, Tongxuan, and Chongzhi. Currently, within the boundary of Lugouqiao Township in Fengtai District, there remain three sections of the western and southern city walls: 1. Fenghuangzui Village at Sanlujù is the southwestern corner of the city wall, where the remaining wall is about 3 meters high and stretches for approximately 100 meters. The drainage channel to the south of the wall is believed to be a remnant of the Jin Dynasty’s city moat. This is the largest preserved section of the Jin Zhongdu ruins. 2. Wanquansi Village has two connected sections of the southern wall. 3. Gaolou Village at Dongguantou has one section of the western wall. All are rammed earth walls and are classified as key cultural relics under protection by Beijing Municipality.