Capital city of Eastern Han Dynasty, Kingdom of Cao Wei, Western Jin Dynasty, and Northern Wei Dynasty

Location: Luoyang, Henan Province

Period: 25-534 AD

Significance: It has played an important role in understanding the history of ancient Chinese capital cities and their developments.

Excavated from 1962 to the present

Introduction

Louyang city was first built in the Western Zhou Period (11th century-771BC), but was destroyed and abandoned at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). The ancient city was in a shape of irregular rectangle, inside which were 24 streets separating districts like the palace, yamuns, gardens and residential area for the common. The city wall had 12 gates and was divided into four parts; the eastern part was 3,895 meters long, the western part 4,290 meters, the northern part 3,700 meters, and the southern part was long destroyed by flood. On the northwest of the city is a military fort.  

Earthen tile-end with the motif of "lotus transformed into Buddha": piece of building (left-up, diameter 15.5 cm); Clay sculpture of a benefactor's head: (mid, height 6 cm); Carved earthen brick with the pattern of animal mask: piece of building (right-bottom, height 57 cm)

The ancient city of Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capitals of China and is included in a list of famous historical and cultural cities of China. Archaeologists have recently confirmed that Luoyang was the capital during the reign of 96 emperors in 13 dynasties over a period of 1,529 years. The layout of Luoyang during the Xia (21st-16th century BC), Shang (16th-11th century BC), Zhou (11th century-256 BC), Han-Wei (206BC-220AD), and Sui-Tang dynasties (581-907 AD), displayed in Luoyang Municipal Museum, is known as "Five capitals Assembling in Luoyang".