General's Tomb (Jiangjun Tomb) (将军坟)

The General's Tomb, Jiangjun Fen in Chinese, is a seven-tier stepped pyramid of granite on the slope of Longshan, on the northeastern edge of Ji'an in Jilin province. It dates from the 5th century AD and is widely linked with King Jangsu of Goguryeo, who moved the capital to Pyongyang in 427 AD and died in 491 AD. The monument is part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, inscribed in 2004, and is often nicknamed the Pyramid of the East because of its tiered form. Each side of the base measures about 30 metres and the structure rises to roughly 12 metres, built from large, precisely dressed granite blocks laid without mortar. Huge stone slabs lean against the foot of each face as buttresses, and some of the cap area still shows the stone bed on which a wooden mortuary hall once stood. A passage leads into a stone burial chamber within the upper mass, where two stone coffin platforms were found, indicating a joint burial. Three small subsidiary tombs around the base are thought to be burials of attendants or relatives. The tomb was robbed in antiquity, and later conservation work has re-set displaced slabs and stabilised the upper tiers. The name General's Tomb is a later local tradition and does not reflect the actual occupant. The tomb sits close to a cluster of other monuments including the Tomb of the Great King and Wandu Mountain City, which makes it practical to visit as part of a half-day or full-day circuit of the Ji'an heritage sites. The site is open-air with a surrounding lawn and paved paths. A visit takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and it is included in the Ji'an heritage ticket.