New UNESCO site included in textbooks

The ancient civilization of Liangzhu, China's latest cultural site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has had its history recorded in middle school textbooks that are being used during the new school year that started on Monday.

The archaeological discoveries of Liangzhu, including its unique water conservancy system and jade wares, have been compiled into the history textbooks published by the People's Education Publishing House for Grade 7 in China.

In addition, the new high school mathematics textbooks use the carbon dating of the relics unearthed from the Liangzhu culture to explain the exponential and logarithmic functions.

The ruins unearthed in East China's Zhejiang province bear the remnants of a 5,000-year-old civilization. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 6.

"China has carried out more than 80 years of archaeological research at the Liangzhu site. With the Liangzhu ancient city as its core, the culture prospered between 5,300 years and 4,300 years ago in the Yangtze River Delta region," said Wang Wei, president of the Chinese Archaeological Society.

He said the inclusion of the Liangzhu site in the textbooks helps foster a cultural confidence among young people and improves their awareness of cultural protection and heritage.

Chen Shoutian, an official of the Liangzhu Site Administration in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, said the Liangzhu ancient city ruins park would offer a field study area to expand cultural knowledge for students of different ages.

Before the release of the textbooks, the Chinese publisher of the Zhejiang Juvenile and Children's Publishing House signed a copyright exporting agreement with two publishers from Egypt and Romania to promote an English-version children's book entitled "Ancient City of Liangzhu", which displays a panoramic view of Liangzhu in three parts－water, jade and city.

The book is expected to be marketed in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Xinhua