Hélóng

Helong lies in a valley north of the Tumen River, amid the hills of the Changbai country. Nearby stands the old walled site of Xigucheng, commonly identified with Zhongjing Xiande, one of the capitals of Balhae. The kingdom governed a wide territory of forests and river valleys before the Khitan conquest in 926. Its earthen walls and palace remains recall a time when the valley formed part of a network of cities linking the inland capital to routes toward the eastern sea.