Baodun Archaeological Site 宝墩遗址

About Baodun Archaeological Site

Its exhibition explains the ancient walled town, rice agriculture and the roots of Shu culture through archaeological finds and interpretation. The surrounding site is a protected working landscape, so visible remains can be less immediately obvious than a reconstructed monument. Start with the exhibition to understand what the walls, pottery and plant remains reveal before viewing any outdoor areas released for visitors.

The Baodun type site was discovered in 1950 and is the oldest and largest of about ten settlements identified with the Baodun culture, dated to roughly 2500 to 1750 BC and closely related to the Sanxingdui culture, whose first phase is counted among the Baodun sites. Other settlements include Mangcheng in Dujiangyan, Yufu in Wenjiang, and Zizhu, Shuanghe and Gucheng around Chongzhou and Pi County. The walls at Baodun and related sites were faced with pebbles, a technique considered unique to the culture.

At Baodun itself, the inner wall encloses about 66 hectares and the outer wall about 245 hectares, making it the largest walled Neolithic settlement known in China; building both walls has been estimated to have required around 100 people working for five years. Whether the space between the two walls was used for housing, farming or another purpose remains unclear. Inhabitants lived in wattle-and-daub houses and made cord-marked pottery with floral rims, flared-mouth ring-footed vessels and trumpet-mouthed jars, alongside the earliest evidence in southwest China for rice and foxtail millet cultivation.

What to look for

• The exhibition connects the walled settlement with early rice agriculture.
• Archaeological interpretation explains the site’s place in the development of Shu culture.

Location & getting there

Getting to Baodun Archaeological Site

Use Baodun Site Exhibition Hall in Baodun village, Baodun Town, Xinjin. Confirm its current opening and any outdoor guided access; the research station and excavation areas are not automatically public attractions.