Climbing Up Wandu Mountain City 丸都山城
I got the through ticket which allows me entrance to several site of the Korguyo Kingdom circuit. I had no idea where my guide will be bringing me as I was just along for the ride. What is good about him is that he is not just a driver but he is also a guilde. I was had expected him to just sit in the car and wait for me to come back. I guess he realizes that I won’t understand much about what I was seeing without any guidance. After all, this is what I paid CNY 100 for. As expected the Wandu Mountain City is a former Koguryo capital city which was built on a mountain. The strategic location of the city makes it clear how important this place was.
Mountainous Area Around the Wandu Mountain City 丸都山城
The Wandu Mountain City was the third of the ancient Korguryo capital cities as the former cities, the Wunu Mountain City and the Guonei City were attacked and conquered respectively, the Wandu Mountain City served as some sort of last stand. The founders couldn’t have picked a better place. The city was built in a natural valley that is protected on three sides by mountains. On the open side, there were tall city walls which were built to fortify the city. The city walls weren’t just built at the front door but the surrounding mountainside were also fortified with city walls. I didn’t climb all the way up the mountain to see this though, my guide was mentioning this as we trudged up the mountain.
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