Liangzhu culture 良渚古城遗址

About Liangzhu culture

Mojiaoshan marks the raised palace area, while Fanshan is associated with elite burials and the jade objects that made Liangzhu famous. Most monumental structures survive as archaeological ground features rather than standing palaces. Read the interpretive signs and landforms together, then use the separate Liangzhu Museum to see the smaller objects in context.

The Liangzhu site covers 34 square kilometers and dates from about 3300 BCE to 2000 BCE, a late Neolithic cultural site centered on the Liangzhu City ruins. In 1959 the archaeologist Xia Nai (夏鼐) named this cultural type Liangzhu culture (良渚文化). The site entered China's tentative World Heritage list in 1994, was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1996, and was inscribed on the World Heritage List on 6 July 2019.

The site lies in the transition zone between hills and plain, on the alluvial plain of the Dongtiao River (东苕溪); spurs of the eastern Tianmu Mountains (东天目山) extend around it to north and south. The Yaoshan site (瑶山遗址), about 5 kilometers northeast, covers 66.56 hectares and includes a high-status cemetery with a square, north-south altar used for sacrificial ceremonies, with burials in two rows to its south. An outer hydraulic system of low dams and a long embankment before the hills covered 349.24 hectares.

The site is presented as evidence of an early regional state based on rice agriculture and social stratification in the lower Yangtze during the late Neolithic, marking a transition from small communities to a large political entity with hierarchy, ritual and jade craftsmanship. Since 2020 Hangzhou has marked 6 July, the date of its World Heritage inscription, as 'Hangzhou Liangzhu Day.'

What to look for

• Mojiaoshan’s raised platform, the centre of the ancient palace area.
• The Fanshan burial area and interpretation of Liangzhu’s elite jade culture.

Location & getting there

Getting to Liangzhu culture

Use the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park south visitor centre in Pingyao, approached from Fengdu Road and the National Highway 104 area. The museum at Meilizhou Road is a separate site. The south entrance and exit have separate functions, so follow current visitor-centre signs.