Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins

Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins: A Sacred Site Evidencing China's 5,000-Year Civilization

The Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins, located in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in the lower Yangtze River basin around Lake Taihu, is a large late Neolithic settlement site dating back approximately 5,300 to 4,300 years. The site consists of the ancient city, an outer water conservancy system, and hierarchical cemeteries (including altars), covering a total area of about 100 square kilometers. It is the largest and most structurally complex capital site of its period in East Asia. On July 6, 2019, at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee, the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins were inscribed on the World Heritage List, becoming the 55th World Heritage site in China, marking international academic recognition of China's 5,000-year civilization.

Overview

The discovery and excavation of the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins is one of the most important achievements of 20th-century Chinese archaeology. The core area includes the Liangzhu Ancient City, Yaoshan Altar, Huiguanshan Altar, Mojiaoshan Palace Area, and Fanshan Royal Cemetery. The outer area features a large-scale water conservancy system consisting of 11 dams, controlling an area of about 100 square kilometers, making it one of the world's earliest flood control and irrigation projects. Liangzhu culture is renowned for its jade artifacts, with ritual objects such as cong (tube), bi (disc), and yue (axe) carved with intricate spirit faces and animal motifs, reflecting highly developed social division of labor and religious beliefs. Carbonized rice and silk remnants unearthed at the site prove that the society had already entered the stage of plow agriculture and silkworm domestication.

Key Highlights

1. Liangzhu Ancient City

The ancient city consists of city walls, gates, inner and outer moats, palace area, workshop area, and storage area. The city walls are about 40-60 meters wide at the base, 20-30 meters wide at the top, and currently about 4 meters high. They were built using the "grass-wrapped mud" technique, where soil was wrapped in straw and piled up, similar to modern sandbags, providing strong compression resistance. Two water gates were found on each side of the city walls, and one land gate was found in the middle of the southern wall, presumed to be a ceremonial entrance. The center of the city is the Mojiaoshan Palace Area, an artificially piled platform covering about 300,000 square meters, on which three large building foundations were found, presumed to be palaces or ancestral temples.

2. Outer Water Conservancy System

The system consists of 11 dams, divided into three types: high dams, low dams, and piedmont long dikes. The high dams are located in the valleys northwest of the ancient city, such as Laohuling and Liyushan, with dam heights of about 10-20 meters, intercepting mountain torrents; the low dams are located on the plain edge north of the ancient city, such as Shizishan and Wutongnong, with dam heights of about 5-10 meters, forming water storage areas; the piedmont long dike is located east of the ancient city, about 5 kilometers long, preventing floods from the East Tiaoxi River. The entire system could regulate floods, provide irrigation and transportation channels, and is one of the world's earliest flood control projects.

3. Fanshan Royal Cemetery

Located northwest of the ancient city, it is an artificially piled noble cemetery covering about 3,000 square meters. Eleven tombs have been excavated, yielding over 1,200 artifacts (sets) of jade, stone, and pottery, with jade accounting for over 90%. The "King of Cong" unearthed from Tomb 12 weighs about 6.5 kilograms and is carved with a complete spirit face and animal motif, representing the pinnacle of Liangzhu jade craftsmanship. The jade yue (axe) from Tomb 20 symbolizes military power. The scale and hierarchy of Fanshan Royal Cemetery indicate that Liangzhu society had a strict class system and kingship.

4. Yaoshan Altar

Located about 5 kilometers northeast of the ancient city, it is a natural hilltop artificially leveled, covering about 4,000 square meters. The altar is square in plan, composed of three layers of soil colors (red, gray, yellow), with a red earth platform in the center, a gray earth ring outside, and a yellow earth platform outermost. Twelve tombs were found on the altar, yielding jade and lacquer artifacts. It is presumed to be a place for worshipping heaven and earth, as well as a noble cemetery.