Ancient site · City
Liangzhu City
Also known as Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City
Liangzhu, near Hangzhou in Zhejiang, was the centre of the Liangzhu culture of the lower Yangtze. In 2007 archaeologists announced a walled city enclosing about 290 hectares, with six gates and an elite platform, and later found a system of dams and dykes upstream for water control.
Elite graves were full of finely carved jade, especially cong tubes and bi discs. Liangzhu is often described as one of the earliest early states in East Asia, built on rice farming. UNESCO listed the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City in 2019.
- Dates
- c. 3300–2300 BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 30.39° N, 119.99° E
How we know
No writing existed; the city, its walls and dams were dated by radiocarbon during excavations since the 1930s and especially after 2007.
Nearby sites
Related
- Liangzhu culture archaeological culture