17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

800-year-old Jin dynasty palace complex found in Beijing Olympic Village

While building the athletes’ Olympic Village for this year’s Winter Games in Beijing, China found the remains of an ancient Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) palace.

Residents of Taizicheng village in Zhangjiakou City in northern China’s Hebei province, have always believed that the name of their village, meaning village of the crown prince, relates to the settlement’s royal roots, according to the China Daily. And research justified them.

Less than an hour from Beijing by high-speed rail, Taizicheng is one of three districts hosting the competition, along with central Beijing and the Yanqing suburb. (The majority of the ski and snowboarding events will take place in Zhangjiakou.)

Cultural relics on exhibition at the Taizicheng site include a bronze sitting dragon.
Cultural relics on exhibition at the Taizicheng site include a bronze sitting dragon. Photo: China Daily

Archaeologists have known about the ancient Chinese palace at Taizicheng since the 1970s, which comprised remnants from the Liao (916-1125 AD) and Jin (1115-1234 AD) dynasties. However, significant investigation work at Taizicheng began in 2017, after China won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, to guarantee that nothing of historical significance was harmed during the construction of the Olympic village there.

The archaeological team proposed that the Olympic village, which was supposed to take up three-quarters of the Taizicheng ruins according to the original design, be relocated after the scale and historical significance of the site was revealed. It was finally built east of the site and across the road from the ruins.

Cultural relics on exhibition at the Taizicheng site include a chiwen, or imperial roof decoration.
Cultural relics on exhibition at the Taizicheng site include a chiwen, or imperial roof decoration.

Talking to the Global Times, Zhang Wenrui, dean of Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that the discovery of the palace came as a “big surprise” for Chinese archaeologists who were not prepared for the grand nature of the discovery.

Huang Xin, head of the site’s archaeology team and the deputy dean of the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology told the Global Times that the team exploring the ruins initially believed that they were just some old and worthless buildings. However, they soon began uncovering priceless ceramics and building materials, as well as telltale architectural features.

Archaeological studies show the Taizicheng site is a rectangular area of 14.3 hectares. Buildings at the site are distributed along a central axis and show the layout of working areas in the front and living areas in the rear, which is a tradition for imperial palaces.

The extensive remains they discovered included 72 building foundations and 14 roads, apart from moats and city walls. White-glazed Ding-ware porcelain, portions of dragon head sculptures, and other ceramics were also found.

Some jade decorations on the exhibition show people’s activities, like hunting geese and deer, and taming gyrfalcon, an important totem of nomadic hunting.

The Taizicheng ruins in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, known as the Olympic village discovery of 2022. ( Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology )
The Taizicheng ruins in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, are known as the Olympic village discovery of 2022. ( Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology )

The nomadic groups in northern China have a long history of taming falcons, especially gyrfalcons. Many cultural relics and murals in tombs show patterns of this animal, usually with its wings spread and sharp claws aimed toward the ground.

What makes the discovery even more significant is that this is the first Jin dynasty palace complex to ever have been unearthed.

Archaeological research shows the site, was a temporary summer residence called Taihe Palace (later renamed Qingning Palace) built by Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty in 1202. Zhangzong was the sixth emperor in the middle and late period of Jin, and during his reign, the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) started to rise.

The ancient palace opened to the public as an archaeological park in 2021, and some of the valuable artifacts found at the site are on display in an exhibition hall that opened on 31 December 2021.

Cover photo: A jade decoration with a gyrfalcon pattern among the cultural relics on display at the Taizicheng site.

Related Articles

Burial Cave in Israel May Belong to Herodian Princess Salome: From Royal Tomb to Christian and Islamic Pilgrimage Site

6 July 2025

6 July 2025

A recently reexamined Second Temple-period burial cave in southern Israel—long revered as the resting place of a Christian saint—may actually...

An Avar Warrior Buried with Lamellar Armor and Equipment Discovered in Hungary

3 February 2024

3 February 2024

Archaeologists of the Déri Museum in Debrecen (eastern Hungary) found the tomb of a fully armed and with a complete...

5,000-Year-Old “Human-Faced” Pottery Fragment Unearthed in Gökhöyük, Konya, Türkiye

17 September 2025

17 September 2025

Archaeologists working in central Türkiye have unearthed a remarkable pottery fragment depicting a human face, dating back nearly 5,000 years....

Remarkable Carved Stone Head Unearthed at Skaill Farm Excavation in Orkney

25 July 2025

25 July 2025

A stunning carved stone head has been unearthed during an ongoing archaeological excavation at Skaill Farm on the island of...

Bosphorus Was Frozen, People Crossed By Walking

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

The calendars showed the year 1954. Istanbul was experiencing an extremely freezing winter after many years. Heavy snowfall, hard enough...

Forged 5,000 Years Ago: The World’s Oldest Swords Discovered at Arslantepe Mound, Türkiye

10 June 2025

10 June 2025

In the arid plains of Eastern Anatolia, nestled along the western bank of the Euphrates River near Malatya, Turkey, lies...

Researchers found similar descriptions in the Book of Revelation and ancient curse tablets

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

A research project headed by Dr. Michael Hölscher of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has uncovered that the book of...

Remarkable discovery of Iron Age and Roman treasures found near a boggy area on Anglesey

29 February 2024

29 February 2024

Metal detectorist Ian Porter unearthed sixteen historical artifacts in a boggy field on Anglesey. Among the items found were Iron...

The Error That Caused II.Ramses to Lose the Battle of Kadesh

5 February 2021

5 February 2021

The Battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and Egyptians in Anatolia, the two superpowers of the Bronze Age period, has...

Prehistoric Settlement Unearthed in Ogovo: Remarkable New Archaeological Discoveries in Belarus

14 August 2025

14 August 2025

Recent archaeological research in Belarus has unveiled insights into the country’s prehistoric past. A series of excavations and underwater studies,...

New Study Reveals Ancient Secrets of the 3,600-year-old Nebra Sky Disc

2 December 2024

2 December 2024

Discovered in 1999 in Germany, the Nebra Sky Disc is the oldest known depiction of the cosmos. A recent examination...

Archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives in Indonesia

29 October 2023

29 October 2023

Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have yielded an incredible find: two tiger shark teeth that were fashioned into...

Archaeologists discover a well-planned new urban precinct in the Egyptian settlement of Marea

2 August 2021

2 August 2021

Archaeologists excavating the ancient port settlement and cemetery of Marea in Egypt have revealed that a significant part of the...

Metal Scraps were Used İnstead of Money in Bronze Age Europe

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

Bronze scrap uncovered in hoards in Europe was used as currency, according to researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and...

At a dig site in western Turkey, a centuries-old Byzantine fortress will be revealed

24 December 2021

24 December 2021

Excavation of vast Byzantine-era fortifications considered to be about 900 years old has begun at a dig site in western...