Juru Hoton

Juru Hoton, known in Chinese as Shuangchengzi, lies in the Suifen valley amid the hills of eastern Manchuria. The valley formed part of the territory of Balhae, whose Suibin district was celebrated for fine horses. Later the Jurchen Jin ruled the region, and in the early thirteenth century the kingdom of Eastern Xia arose amid the wars that broke Jin power. Ancient fortified sites in the valley preserve traces of these successive states and their routes toward the coast.