Digging up our knowledge of the past

Archaeologists continue to add to the fascinating history of Beijing as a capital city, Wang Ru reports.

Fresh stories of Beijing's long history are gradually emerging, thanks to hard work by archaeologists. Details of new discoveries spanning 2,000 years from the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) have recently been released by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau.

The city's stint as the national capital began 871 years ago when the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) moved its capital to Beijing in 1153, calling it Zhongdu ("the central capital"). It was located mainly in what is today's Xicheng and Fengtai districts.

The recent discovery of a gate from the Jin Zhongdu era is among the highlights revealed by archaeologists.