Luut (Longcheng), Kharganyn Dörvöljin
The seat of the Xiongnu Chanyu, identified at Kharganyn Dörvöljin in Ölziit soum, Arkhangai aimag.
- Period
- Xiongnu · НТӨ III зуун – НТ II зуун
- Location
- Arkhangai aimag, Ölziit soum
- Coordinates
- 48.1030° N, 102.5606° E · View on map
Key points
- Found in 2017 and excavated from 2020 by a team from Ulaanbaatar State University led by Dr. T. Iderkhangai.
- A roof-tile fragment inscribed “Son of Heaven Chanyu” was recovered — the first such inscription found in Mongolia.
- The city has a double wall and an artificial reservoir.
Chinese histories record Longcheng — in Mongolian, Luut, “Dragon City” — as the place where the Xiongnu Chanyu held his great assemblies. Its location was long unknown.
The ruins at Kharganyn Dörvöljin have no standing walls and are hard to see from the ground, but the outline of the enclosure shows clearly in drone photographs and on mapping software.
The excavation director, T. Iderkhangai, identifies the site as the Xiongnu ruler’s summer palace, Longcheng or Luut. In 2025 the team published line drawings found during the palace excavation.
Specialists still discuss whether Luut was occupied year-round or served as a seasonal meeting place for the elite. The American archaeologist Bryan Miller suggests it was a seasonal or temporary gathering centre rather than a permanent city.
Sources
- Идэрхангай Т., Энхзул Ж. 2025. MJAAE 14(2):57–66, doi:10.22353/mjaae.2025140206
- Wikipedia (en): Longcheng, Mongolia
- Wikipedia (en): Architecture of Mongolia
- Heritage Daily 2020: Archaeologists discover the lost Dragon City, capital of Xiongnu Empire (heritagedaily.com)
- ikon.mn 2022: Хүннү гүрний нийслэл Луут хотыг судлах, мэдээлэх төвийн шавыг тавилаа (ikon.mn/n/2c6r)
- Science News 2023: How Asia’s first nomadic empire broke the rules of imperial expansion (sciencenews.org)
“Luut (Longcheng), Kharganyn Dörvöljin.” luut.mn, 2026-11-02. https://www.luut.mn/en/ancient-cities/luut/