The ancient Chimú kingdom (700-1400 AD) founded their capital by the banks of the Moche River, 5 kilometers away from Trujillo, in the department of La Libertad and called it Jang-Jang, which in the ancient Mochica language means "sun-sun". Chan Chan, which covers an area of 20 square km, is the largest mud-brick citadel dating back to the pre-Hispanic era, and has been declared as Humankind’s Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

han Chan was built between the 12th and 15th centuries and populated by more than one hundred thousand persons, who must had belonged to diverse social classes as the Citadel’s three types of edifications reveal : working class buildings, middle class buildings and monumental buildings: palaces where the Chimu-Capac Lords resided. To build it, the Chimú architects used clay, mud, pebbles, wood, reeds, straw and cane, materials which enable the citadel to blend in with the sandy coasts.