Jin Earth City Ruins

　　The Jin Earth City Ruins are situated in the vicinity of Fenghuangzui Village in Fengtai District. The highest section of the ruins stands around 3 meters tall, appearing in fragmented sections and extending for roughly 100 meters. From the third to the fifth year of the Tiande era (1151–1153) during the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wanyan Liang (Hailingwang) expanded the eastern, western, and southern walls of the old Yanjing city outward. Its northeastern corner was located at today’s Cuihua Street inside Xuanwumen, the northwestern corner at today’s Huangtingzi east of Yangfangdian, the southeastern corner at Silutong south of Yongdingmen Railway Station, and the southwestern corner at today’s Fenghuangzui in Fengtai District. In the fifth year of Tiande, the capital was moved here from Shangjing Huining Prefecture and renamed Zhongdu (Central Capital). The Jin Zhongdu city had 13 gates: four on the north side and three on each of the east, west, and south sides. A total of 12 gates led into the central palace complex. In front was a square and a thousand-step corridor, flanked by government offices; the southwest hosted gardens, temples, and monasteries, while the northeast was the commercial district. The city covered an area of about 22 square kilometers. It inherited aspects of the urban layouts of the Tang-era Youzhou and Liao-era Nanjing, while also incorporating features from the Song-era Bianliang city. The architecture was luxurious and splendid. In the third year of the Zhenyou era (1215), it was captured and burned by Mongol forces. The remaining ruins consist of the section extending eastward from the southwestern corner of Zhongdu, with several meters of the western wall still visible at Gaolou Village. The water channel south of the earthen ruins is believed to be the remnant of the Jin Dynasty’s moat.