The grassland capital

"The Liao temple complex was continuously used by the Jin Dynasty that followed. It has been the best-preserved Liao-Jin temple ruins unearthed in archaeological researches so far," Dong says.

According to the expert, Buddhism developed fast under the Liao rule owing to upper class patronage, and the dynasty then became a key contributor to spreading the religion in East Asia.

In recent years, approaches of natural sciences have intensively been used in research work on Shangjing to enrich information through animal remains, plant seeds and the natural environment.

"Ancient documentation mostly focused on the stories of rulers and noblemen. But these interesting details vividly reflect how the common people made a living. It helps fill in the gaps in historical records," Dong says.

Knowledge refreshed

The in-depth studies on Shangjing's layout have offered new and crucial knowledge about Khitan beliefs. For example, unlike most ancient capitals in China whose front gates faced southward and central axes went from south to north, the front city gate of Shangjing faced east and its central axis went from east to west. Dong's research thus indicates that the east was of particular significance to the nomadic clan.