Ruins of Jinan

(Local Name: Jinan Gucheng) The ruins of Jinan are situated about 20km/12mi to the northwest of Shashi on the southern slopes of the Jishan. Jinan, capital of the Chu empire from 689-278 BC, was the largest city in China at that time.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the city had a rectangular ground plan and massive defense walls, which were up to 7m/22ft high and 4.5km/3mi long (east-west) and 3.5km/2mi long (north-south), covering a total area of 16sq.km/6sq.mi. In the southeastern section of the city the foundations of a building were discovered (60m/65yd long and 14m/15yd wide) which once formed part of the imperial palace.

The city district of Fenghuangshan was transformed