Archaeologists have discovered a 800-year-old city in Benxi
City, northeastern Liaoning province, approximately 660 meters
above sea level and covering about 520,000 square meters, local
government said on Thursday.
The city was built into a flat area in Pingding Mountain, said
Liang Zhilong, deputy director of the city museum. He told Xinhua
News Agency that archaeologists discovered the ruins during a
recent research expedition.
Not much of the city remains, apart from some stone walls and a
house, Liang said, adding that although they can confirm that the
city was built some time between the Jin (1115-1234) and Yuan
dynasties (1279-1368), they cannot confirm who actually built the
city or who lived there.
"The city designers were so ingenious that they used the cliffs
as a natural defense and filled the cliff cracks with stone," Liang
said.
The 657-meter-high Pingding Mountain, which has a flat top, is
located in the southern part of Benxi's urban areas.
According to history records, the mountain was used as a
military base in the Yuan and Ming dynasties (1368-1644).
(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2005)