Dawenkou Site Museum helps visitors explore Yellow River civilization

The Dawenkou Culture originating in Tai'an is a significant landmark in the history of Chinese civilization. [Photo/Shandian News]

Along the banks of Tai'an's Dawen River, waterfowl soar and the river ripples. In this fertile oasis, a brilliant cultural soil is being nurtured.

"The Dawen River is the largest tributary of the Yellow River within Shandong province today, and one of the few rivers in China that flows westward," introduced Xu Bo, deputy director of the Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

"In the Neolithic Age, dating back to approximately 9,300 to 8,000 years ago, the Dawen River gave birth to an important prehistoric culture—the Dawenkou Culture, which dates back over 6,000 years. The Tai'an Dawenkou site, as the discovery and namesake of the Dawenkou Culture, not only represents a significant heritage of the Yellow River culture with Eastern characteristics but also serves as a major source of the etiquette system of the Chinese civilization," said Xu.

In May this year, the eighth excavation of the Dawenkou site was initiated at the Dawenkou Site Museum. The local government established a brand-new archaeological protection on the original excavation site from 10 years ago. The efforts restored and displayed nine key archaeological sites of the Dawenkou Culture, including actual-size house foundations, and the excavations are now free to the public.

This year, to better fulfill the responsibility of exhibiting the Dongyi culture as part of the Yellow River National Cultural Park (Shandong section), the Dawenkou Site Museum has constructed two primary exhibition projects and one archaeological project, which have already been successively accepted. During this year's National Day holiday, the park saw 76 percent more visitors compared to the previous year, according to Zhang Baowei, director of the Tai'an Dawenkou Cultural Protection and Inheritance Center.