Located around 30 kilometers east to the downtown Hangzhou, Liangzhu Ancient City Relics or Ruins of Liangzhu City was the center of power of an early state. Since firstly discovered in 1936, the scholars of culture relics and archaeological research have been exploring the secrets of the Liangzhu Civilization. On July 6th 2019, the Liangzhu Ancient City Relics is official listed in the World’s Heritage by UNESCO. The relics is another strong proof of the existence of at least 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
Liangzhu Culture (3,300-2,300 BC.) was confirmed in 1959 by scholars based on the first discovered Liangzhu Ancient City Relics in Hangzhou. Other support like archaeological relics were founded in surrounding cities like Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the following years. Among the large geographical scale of the Liangzhu Culture, Liangzhu Ancient City Relics is provided to be the center of the politic, economic, religious and cultural center. It is the largest prehistoric site in China and reputed as the First City in China.
After decades of exploration, the archeologists discovered the Liangzhu Ancient City Relics was a large-scale capital with palace area, inner city, outer city and the hydraulic system at the city’s periphery. The hydraulic system of Liangzhu Ancient City was the earliest known large-scale water conservancy project as well as the earliest dam system in the world.
The archaeological work presents this early state-city relics was well-structured and clearly-zoned. The Ruins of Liangzhu City was shaped rectangle with round corners. It covered around 2,900 square meters with 1,800-1,900 length and 1,500-1,700 width. In some areas, 4-meter high city walls were preserved. From the unearthed jade or other antiques, it is easy to find the different functions, types and patterns of the jade, implying a detailed policy for different classes to use or obtain the jade. Actually it reflects the etiquette the Liangzhu Civilization already formed in an aspect of urban culture.
As the core of the Liangzhu Culture dating back over 5,500 years ago, the Liangzhu Ancient City Relics represents the great achievement of prehistoric civilization of China and is an outstanding example of early urban civilization. From the study of the relics, the prehistoric civilization already showed social differentiation and a unified belief system.