Mixed culture

An unearthed Sixteen Kingdoms gravesite shows links from the period to present-day Xi'an, Wang Kaihao reports.

In the fourth century AD, when the Roman Empire was suffering from turmoil, imperial China had its own share of chaos.

From 304 to 439, dozens of states established by various ethnic groups existed all across the north and southwest of China and fought one another, while the southeast was relatively stable under the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) of Han rulers. Some of these short-lived states emerged as regional powers, during a time known as the Sixteen Kingdoms period.