ANCIENT KINGDOM SITE: A bird’s-eye view of the tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom, now part of China’s 30th world heritage site

Some 2,000 years ago, a man named Zhu Meng established a kingdom in northeast China. Today, remains of his kingdom have become a heritage of the whole world. This kingdom was called “Koguryo,” which ruled over part of north China and the northern half of the Korean Peninsula from 227 B.C. to A.D. 668.

The 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee unanimously agreed on July 1 to inscribe the capital cities and tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom of China onto the World Heritage list, adding another site to the country’s 29 world heritage properties.

Ancient Kingdom

ANCIENT KINGDOM SITE: A bird’s-eye view of the tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom, now part of China’s 30th world heritage site
Although destroyed over 1,300 years ago, relics of the kingdom remain in good condition, including the capital city, fortifications, royal tombs and steles in what is nowadays called Ji’an City, Jilin Province and the neighboring Huanren County of Liaoning Province.

The site includes archaeological remains of three cities and 40 tombs: Wunu Mountain City, Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City, 14 tombs for imperial, and 26 for nobles. Wunu Mountain City has only been partly excavated. Guonei City, within the modern city of Ji’an, played the role of a secondary capital after the main Koguryo capital moved to the location of today’s Pyongyang. Wandu Mountain City, one of the capitals of the Koguryo Kingdom, contains many vestiges including a large palace and 37 tombs. Some of the tombs have elaborate ceilings, designed for wide roofs without columns and carry the heavy load of a stone or earth tumulus (mound), which was placed above them.

When inscribing the relics on the World Heritage List, the World Heritage Center of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said that the tombs represent a masterpiece of the human creative genius in their wall paintings and structures.

The capitals of the Koguryo Kingdom are an early example of mountain cities, later imitated by neighboring cultures. The tombs, particularly the important steles and a long inscription in one of the tombs, show the impact of Chinese culture on the Koguryo (who did not develop their own writing). The paintings in the tombs, while showing artistic skills and specific style, are also examples of the strong impact this civilization had from other cultures.

The capital cities and tombs of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom represent exceptional testimony to the vanished Koguryo civilization.

The system of capitals represented by Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City also influenced the construction of later capitals built by the Koguryo regime; the Koguryo tombs provide outstanding examples of the evolution of piled-stone and earthen tomb construction.

The capital cities of the Koguryo Kingdom represent a perfect blending of human creation and nature, whether with the rocks or with forests and rivers.