Zhoukoudian Relics Museum (The Cave of Peking Man)

[Photo/sd.people.com.cn]

The Zhoukoudian Relics Museum of palaeoanthropology is located in Fangshan District in Beijing. Construction of the museum began in 1953 in a 1,000 square meter area. The museum now introduces the environments and living conditions of Peking Man, who existed 600,000 years ago, Xindong Man of 100,000 years ago and Upper Cave Man of 18,000 years ago.

[Photo/sd.people.com.cn]

In 1929, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Pei Wenzhong unearthed the first complete fossilized Peking Man skull at Longgu Mountain-- a discovery that shook the world. In 1936, anthropologist Jia Lanpo discovered three fossilized Upper Cave Man skulls. In the late 1960s, Xindong Man relics that came into being 1,000 centuries ago were excavated at the same place. The series of important discoveries was critical in understanding the origin of mankind. Zhoukoudian has been listed as a Protected Cultural Relics site by the State Council of China and named a World Cultural Heritage location by UNESCO.

[Photo/sd.people.com.cn]

The front of the exhibition hall is a solid model of Longgu Mountain, displaying stone specimens from the Zhoukoudian area dating back 100 to 400 million years. They reflect the geological changes throughout that long history. The models of the fossilized skulls, the fire relics and various stone tools of Peking Man are exhibited in No. 1 Hall. A restored cave of Upper Cave Man is in No. 2 Hall. No. 3 Hall contains a necklace made by Upper Cave Man as well as a model of the distribution of amniotes fossils and the dwellings of ancient people. In the No. 4 Hall are fossils of ancient people found in China and all over the world at different periods, stone tools and drawings, paintings and other artworks of the Paleolithic Period.