Pianlian City Ruins

Located ten li north of Lishu County Town on the north bank of the Zhaosutai River, Pianlian City is a large ancient city dating back to the Liao and Jin dynasties. It stood on the vital thoroughfare linking Yanjing (present-day Beijing) to Shangjing of the Jin Dynasty (present-day Acheng District, Heilongjiang Province), serving as the only passage between the Song and Jin empires at that time.

Pianlian City was formerly known as Zhaosu City and Liesu City, also nicknamed Lishu City. It acquired its current name later because its terrain slopes high in the northwest and low in the southeast, resembling a lopsided human face.

The city was built in a square shape, with each wall stretching two li long. The base of the city wall is roughly three to four zhang wide, and a secondary outer wall encircles the perimeter. Turrets at the four corners rise three to four chi above the wall surface. Each of the four main city gates is equipped with two barbican entrances, and the original gate stone bases still lie beside the gateways.

As a key transportation artery connecting the Jin territory to inland China and a vital military stronghold during the Liao and Jin dynasties, it was a strategic place contested by all warring parties. In 1128 and 1130, Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty, who had been captured by the Jin troops, were imprisoned here for a period of time.