China's Ruins of Liangzhu City Joins UNESCO World Heritage Site List

Hangzhou1111Jul 15, 2019

The archaeological ruins of ancient Liangzhu City in Hangzhou China was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site during the 43rd session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on July 6th, 2019.

The archaeological ruins of ancient Liangzhu City in Hangzhou China was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site during the 43rd session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on July 6th, 2019. It is the 55th Chinese entry on the list, and so far China still ranks the first by the total number of the heritage sites in the world.

"It is considered to be a supreme achievement of prehistoric rice-cultivating civilization of China and East Asia over 5,000 years ago and an outstanding example of early urban civilization," said a report by the committee's official advisory body.

Sitting in Pingyao Town, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, the Ruins of Liangzhu City is one of the greatest prehistoric cultural sites in the world. Dating back to 5300-4300 years ago, Liangzhu civilization once existed around Taihu Lake in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southern China. It is proved to be the largest prehistoric city and the earliest country in China so far.

First unearthed in 1936, the archaeological excavation and investigation in the past decades had confirmed the authenticity of Liangzhu Archaeological Site. The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu city is a late-stage cultural site of the Neolithic Age that had been inhabited for over 1,000 years.

These ruins are an outstanding example of early urban civilization expressed in earthen monuments, urban planning, a water conservation system and a social hierarchy seen in differentiated burials in cemeteries within the property.

The archaeological site of Liangzhu now is known to be a huge metropolis made up of four structures, including palatial area, inner city, outer city and peripheral water conservancy system. Densely distributed villages, cemeteries and altars were uncovered from the ruins, while the jade wares are the most characteristic objects among the findings. There are 11 ancient tombs in total excavated, housing more than 1,200 pieces of relics and artifacts, and most of them are jades.

The outer water conservancy system of Liangzhu ancient city is the earliest large-scale water conservancy project known in the world, which proves the high achievement of rice farming development of Yangtze River Basin in prehistoric society. Exquisite jade articles and huge irrigation projects show that Liangzhu use to be a highly organized society or state, which also suggests Chinese civilization begins more than 5,000 years ago.

Now the core area of Liangzhu archaeological ruins has been established into a site park that covers an area of about 14 square kilometers. Visitors could have a chance to witness the remaining palatial area where the highest rulers of Liangzhu had been inhabited, and the ancient waterways as well as the tomb pits exiting for over 5,000 years. There is also a small museum where you can have a look at the discovered jades with patterns and learn about the prehistoric belief in Liangzhu civilization behind them. Children are given opportunities to experience the fun of archaeology by digging sand, painting, printing, repairing objects, etc.

The park officially opens in August 1st, 2019. All the visitors need to make a reservation in advance as the flow of visitors are strictly controlled for the protection of the ruins. The admission ticket costs RMB80 per person, which includes the sightseeing bus that delivers visitors to different spots of the park. The park is open from 09:00 to 17:00 every day except Monday.  

From Liangzhu subway station of line 2, you could take the shuttle bus No. 1222M to the Liangzhu Site Park directly. For foreign visitors, the best way to the park is to take a taxi or book a private vehicle transfer.