Niuheliang National Archaeological Site Park

Niuheliang National Archaeological Site Park
牛河梁国家考古遗址公园

Location: Lingyuan city, Chaoyang city, Liaoning province
Hours: 9 am - 4 pm
General admission: 120 yuan ($18.73)

The Niuheliang site lies on a mountain ridge bordering Jianping county and Lingyuan city in Chaoyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province. Discovered among a vast expanse of farmland, it is four hours' drive from Beijing.

The site dates back to between 5,500 and 5,000 years ago, a time period in the late Neolithic era and defined by Chinese archaeologists as the Hongshan Culture. Sacrificial altars, temples and tombs - along with the precious jade items discovered at the site - testify that the early civilization was highly developed, and that an ancient state with a social hierarchy had existed as early as the five millennia ago in China. The archaeological finds from the Niuheliang site serve as solid evidence of China's 5,000 years of civilization, and have exerted tremendous influence on traditional culture, ideology, religion, architecture, and fine art.

The Niuheliang National Archaeological Site Park covers nearly 59 square kilometers, with the core protected area covering 8 square kilometers. Three major facilities have been constructed for the public to visit: the Gallery of the Goddess Temple, the Hall of Large Sacrificial Altars and the Piled-rock Mounds, and the Heritage Site Museum and Research Center. There are rich varieties of unearthed objects and exhibitions about the Hongshan Culture, the ancient state at Niuheliang, ancient sacrifice and burial rites, and the culture of jade.