Gyeongju

Gyeongju (경주) was the capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a thousand years, and the whole valley is an open archaeological site. Grass-covered royal tumuli sit in parks in the middle of town, one of them opened up so visitors can walk inside, and Cheomseongdae, a small bottle-shaped stone tower from the seventh century, is among the oldest surviving astronomical observatories in East Asia. On the hillside east of the city, Bulguksa and the Seokguram grotto with its granite Buddha were listed by UNESCO in 1995, and the Gyeongju Historic Areas followed in 2000. Wolji Pond and the rebuilt Donggung palace are lit at night and reflected whole. Namsan, the mountain behind, is scattered with hundreds of Buddhist carvings on its trails, and Yangdong, another UNESCO clan village, lies to the north.