The exhibition of 169 displays at the Capital Museum in Beijing includes such items as a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) map of the Grand Canal, and other cultural relics like daily items, pottery and construction materials. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Visiting an ongoing exhibition at the Capital Museum is like reading a book about eastern Beijing's Tongzhou. It tells of the area's early glory and how it was rejuvenated thanks to a canal. Wang Kaihao reports.

The title of an ongoing exhibition in Beijing has four Chinese characters－Ji Fu Tong Hui (a key junction on the outskirts of the capital city)－which are an apt description of Tongzhou, a district in the eastern part of the capital.

Visiting the exhibition－comprising 169 displays－at the Capital Museum in Beijing is like opening a book about Tongzhou. It tells of its early glory and how it was rejuvenated thanks to a canal.

The district has been in the news in recent years after it was designated as Beijing's "sub-center". And this has led to the large-scale construction of infrastructure there.

But as construction began, a well-preserved ancient city dating to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) was unearthed. The site has been identified as the remains of Luxian county from 195 BC.

The find was among China's top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2016.