Ruins of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom

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File:Ruins of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, reputed as the "oriental pyramid", Jilin.jpg
Ruins of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, reputed as the "oriental pyramid", Jilin

The sites of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom ruins (高句丽王国遗址) were included in World Heritage List (WHL) in 2004, including the ancient kingdom’s capitals, royal mausoleums as well as a number of tombs for the nobles. They mainly scattered in Ji'an City of Jilin Province and Huanren County of Liaoning Province.

In total, more than 10,000 ancient tombs have been found on the plains around Ji’an, which are known locally and internationally as the Donggou Ancient Tombs. Of them, the most striking is the well-preserved tomb of King Changshou, the 12th king of the Koguryo Kingdom, built at the beginning of the fifth century AD. The tomb was built in seven strata with the finest granite. The first strata was paved with four layers of granite slabs, the largest one being 5.7 m long, 1.12 m wide, 1.1 m thick and with a weight of 32 tons. Each of the other six strata was paved with three layers of granite slabs. The whole tomb is in square shape, with the base measuring 997 sq. m, and the top, 270 sq. m. Right in the middle of the fifth strata is a paved path leading to the tomb chamber, which is 5 m long and 5.5 m high.

China has invested 280 million yuan (about 45.5 million U.S. dollars) to protect the relics of the ancient Koguryo Kingdom since it was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List.