• "Zhejiang Cultural Imprints" is a series of introductory articles introducing some of the most influential cultural heritages and cultural imprints in Zhejiang province. Today, we are going to talk about the Ruins of The Imperial City of Southern Song Dynasty. 

(Ruins of The Imperial City of Southern Song Dynasty )

Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the early period of the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the wars, the palaces were not built. After the peace talks between the Song and Jin states, large-scale palace construction began consequently. In 2001, the ruins of the Imperial city of the Southern Song Dynasty were identified as a key national protection unit. 

（A sketch map of the imperial city of the Southern Song Dynasty)

The imperial city of the Southern Song Dynasty was built by natural mountains, and its pattern was not strictly square. The Southern Song Dynasty imperial city faces the river and backs the mountain, and it is not built in the broad plain ground but follows the ancient Chinese concept of geomantic omen, which is the unity of man and nature. The palace community presents the landscape of the imperial city integrating nature and culture. 

(Executive Editor: Ye Ke)