HERITAGE RECORD · 1135

Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom

高句丽王城、王陵及贵族墓葬

The official record, selection criteria and sourced cultural context.

World Heritage record

The site includes archaeological remains of three cities and 40 tombs: Wunu Mountain City, Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City, 14 tombs are imperial, 26 of nobles. All belong to the Koguryo culture, named after the dynasty that ruled over parts of northern China and the northern half of the Korean Peninsula from 277 BC to AD 668. Wunu Mountain City is only partly excavated. Guonei City, within the modern city of Ji’an, played the role of a ‘supporting capital’ after the main Koguryo capital moved to Pyongyang. Wandu Mountain City, one of the capitals of the Koguryo Kingdom, contains many vestiges including a large palace and 37 tombs. Some of the tombs show great ingenuity in their elaborate ceilings, designed to roof wide spaces without columns and carry the heavy load of a stone or earth tumulus (mound), which was placed above them.

Open the official UNESCO record ↗

Wikidata reference

QIDQ134873 ↗

Area4164.8599 ha

Administrative areaQ45208

WikipediaCapital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom ↗

Chinese Wikipedia高句丽王城、王陵及贵族墓葬 ↗

Imported locally from Wikidata; it does not replace the UNESCO record or editorial copy.

Selection criteria

This property was inscribed under the following World Heritage Convention criteria.

(i)A masterpiece of human creative genius.

(ii)An important interchange of human values in architecture, technology, arts, town planning or landscape design.

(iii)A unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.

(iv)An outstanding example of a building, ensemble or landscape illustrating a significant stage in human history.

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