Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City

Background

The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City lie in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, spanning the Liangzhu Subdistrict and Pingyao Town. The site dates to about 3300–2300 BCE; the city itself covers about 3 square kilometres, about 6.3 square kilometres with the outer city, and the World Heritage core zone covers 1,433.66 hectares. The Mojiaoshan palace area was built on an artificial terrace of about 30 hectares, on which the Great Mojiaoshan mound rises nearly 15 metres. The city walls had water and land gates, and about 30 kilometres of moats, waterways and canals inside and outside the city were regulated by 8 water gates; northwest of the city, high dams, low dams and the long Tangshan dyke formed a water-control system covering nearly 100 square kilometres, regarded as the earliest known large-scale water-management project in the world. Yaoshan yielded 678 jade pieces, and the Fanshan, Jiangjiashan and other cemeteries together yielded 4,229, including a 6.5-kilogram jade cong known as the “King of Cong”. Shi Xingeng carried out the first trial excavation here in 1936, Xia Nai named the Liangzhu culture in 1959, and the discovery of the city walls in 2006 confirmed the site as an ancient city. Scholars regard it as the political and religious centre of the Liangzhu culture, representing an early state in the lower Yangtze built on rice farming. Jades such as the cong and the yue axe symbolised power and belief, and the motif of a god-man with an animal mask on the cong is the hallmark of Liangzhu culture. The city was eventually abandoned; one view links this to widespread flooding brought on by climate change. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2019, it is seen as one of the earliest testimonies to Chinese civilisation.

Local customs

• Walk through the archaeological park to see the Mojiaoshan palace terrace, the remains of the city walls and the water system, and look out over the layout of the city from a high point
• at the Yaoshan altar and burial area, get a sense of the rituals and social ranks of the time
• the jade cong, bi discs and other pieces in the Liangzhu Museum can be seen alongside the site itself.

Travel tips

• The site is a large outdoor area, so bring sun and rain protection and drinking water, and wear comfortable walking shoes. Ticket prices and opening hours follow the official notices. The archaeological park and the museum can be visited on the same day. Note that “Liangzhu” (良渚) is unrelated to the Liang–Zhu (梁祝) of the Butterfly Lovers legend: the names sound alike but are written with different characters.
• Buses from downtown Hangzhou reach the Liangzhu Archaeological Park and the Liangzhu Museum in Yuhang District
• routes and schedules follow the official notices. You can visit all year
• spring and autumn, with mild weather, are best for walking outdoors, summers are hot and rainy, and winters are cold, so dress warmly.