Xijincheng Site

Period: Neolithic Age Address: Xijincheng Village, Jincheng Township, Bo'ai County

The Xijincheng Site is situated in Xijincheng Village, Jincheng Township, Bo'ai County, Henan Province. It lies 7.5 kilometres northwest of the county seat and 10 kilometres south of the Taihang Mountains, with an elevation between 107 and 108 metres. The main canal of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project cuts across the eastern part of the site.

Entrusted by the Cultural Relics Protection Office for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project under Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, the archaeological team from Shandong University launched large-scale excavations starting in the summer of 2006. Four sessions of excavation and exploratory drilling were carried out over two consecutive years until the winter of 2007, and all fieldwork has now been completed.

The team opened 50 square excavation units measuring 10 metres by 10 metres. Together with three exploratory trenches, the total excavated area reached 5,200 square metres. Major archaeological achievements were attained, including the discovery of a Longshan cultural city site. The ancient landforms around the city and its economic production zones have been largely clarified. For the first time ever, wheat remains were uncovered at a Henan Longshan Culture site. This discovery carries great academic significance for studying the origin of civilisation and the evolution of human-land relations in the Central Plains.

On May 3, 2013, the State Council designated the site as one of the Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units.