China's newest World Heritage Site—the Ruins of Liangzhu City

河南濮阳县第三中学 井孟晨

On July 6th， 2019， news from the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku， the capital of Azerbaijan， got people in China cheering in excitement. The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， was listed as a World Heritage Site.

Welcoming the public

The Liangzhu ruins， which opened to the public on Sunday， is located between the villages of Liangzhu and Pingyao in the northwestern part of Hangzhou. Spreading across an area of 3.66 square kilometers，the park provides shuttle bus services， so visitors can travel to many different sites.

First established around 3，000 BC， the city of Liangzhu Ancient was enclosed by walls 6，000 meters in length. The walls formed a rectangle with rounded corners，with the northeastern and southwestern corners encompassing the natural hills of Zhishan and Fengshan respectively.

The city was a grand capital city with a palace area， inner and outer city and a peripheral water conservation system. The palace area in the center of the inner city was 39 hectares in size， while the inner city covered an area of 280 hectares and the outer city 351 hectares. The water system impacted an area of around 100 square kilometers.

Passion for history

Although it was raining on the third day of the park's opening， the weather couldn't keep visitors away. They can book tickets seven days in advance. The park has set up a ticketing system on WeChat.after getting the title of World Heritage Site. Protection is a long-lasting means to allow us to explore their value，” Chen said.However， tickets are limited to 3，000 a day.

Michelle Shearer， a visitor from Australia working in Hangzhou， told the Global Times that she booked a ticket on WeChat as soon as she heard the news that it had become a World Heritage Site.“It is really a good place for people to learn about history and culture，” she said.

Important evidence

The city offers unique evidence of China's 5，000 years of history.

“This is the first time that a Chinese prehistoric archaeological site has been selected as a World Heritage Site. It shows the origin and development of ancient cultures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River，” said Chen Xingcan，deputy president of the Institute of Archaeology， CASS. He noted that these areas need protection instead of promotion. “I'm worry that related institutes place more importance on the World Heritage applications than the protection of these sites. We cannot relax

文化拓展

良渚文化分布的空间范围非常广阔，包括长江下游太湖流域36，500 平方千米的区域面积。通过科学的测定，良渚文化的年代为距今 5，300—4，300 年，持续发展约1，000 年， 属于新石器时代晚期的考古学文化。

良渚遗址位于浙江省杭州市余杭区瓶窑镇良渚街道境内。 良渚遗址的核心为良渚古城遗址， 以反山墓地出土玉器的类型、功能、纹饰与用玉制度，体现了文化特性——礼制的影响。 它的出土玉器无论是文化含义还是制作技艺， 都展现出中国两河流域农耕文明的信仰特征，特别是反山墓地“琮王”所展现的良渚玉器最为经典的纹饰 “神人兽面纹”。良渚遗址代表了中华文明起源阶段稻作农业的最高成就， 并经由它所代表的良渚文化对其后五千年的中华文明发展产生了广泛而深远的影响。