The Ancient City of Dongpingling

The Ancient City of Dongpingling was the seat of the Kingdom of Jinan, the Jinan Commandery and Pingling County in the Han Dynasty. From 204 BC to the 10th year of the Yuanhe reign of the Tang Dynasty (815 AD), the city endured 1,019 years of vicissitudes.

The ruins lie roughly 0.6 kilometres northeast of the Longshan Sub-district Office in Zhangqiu City, and nearly 2 kilometres southwest of the Chengziya Site. The city was roughly square, with each side measuring about 1,900 metres and covering a total area of around 3.6 million square metres. Remnants of rammed-earth city walls can still be seen all around the site. The surviving wall is 10 to 30 metres wide and 1 to 4 metres high, while the underground foundation stretches approximately 40 metres in width.

Archaeological surveys reveal that the early city wall was compacted with wooden sticks, leaving round flat rammer pits. A large quantity of wooden stakes were embedded inside the wall, together with stakes and ropes used to fix the timber frame. Four gate ruins were discovered in 1975. A large area paved with bricks and stones was unearthed beneath the North Gate, which is presumed to be part of the original gate structure.

The terrain inside the city slopes down from south to north. Within an area of 300 to 400 metres west of the city centre, there are large deposits of slag, ore, charcoal, refractory materials and burnt earth, marking an iron-smelting site of the period and testifying to highly developed handicraft industry at that time.

In addition, extensive rammed earth, paving bricks and house foundations were excavated in the northeastern part of the city, locally known as "Palace Foundation Ground". This proves that this zone was the palace compound of Dongpingling. Therefore, Dongpingling was a major city boasting prosperous politics, economy and handicrafts in the Han Dynasty.

Years of archaeological excavation confirm that the city of Dongpingling came into being no later than the late Warring States Period, with the same scale as the capital of the Kingdom of Jinan in the Han Dynasty. Cultural relics dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period have been unearthed here, confirming human habitation as early as that era and providing physical evidence for historical records.

The Ancient City of Dongpingling is well preserved with the perimeter walls largely intact. It ranks among the best-preserved ancient city sites in Shandong Province. It was listed as one of the first batch of Provincial Key Cultural Relic Protection Units by the People’s Government of Shandong Province in 1977, and designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council on May 25, 2006