2019 World Cultural Heritage: China's Liangzhu City site vies to make UNESCO list

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The 43rd UNESCO World Heritage Committee is meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss the inscription of new sites. China has submitted "Liang-zhu Archaeological Site". The final results are expected within days. CGTN's Wu Lei visited the Liangzhu ancient city and has more.

Look at these fascinating jade objects. They are over 5,000 years old. Archaeologists excavated them in the ruins of Liangzhu city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. From exquisite jade artefacts to pottery, various burial objects were found in numerous funeral plots. Liu Bin and other archaeologists have been excavating Liangzhu relics since the 1980s.

LIU BIN, DIRECTOR ZHEJIANG CULTURAL RELICS AND ARCHEOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE "Over 5,000 years ago, communities emerged along the rivers in ancient Egypt and India. Our archaeological discovery shows Liangzhu was also a state-level society."

With the ruins of ancient Liangzhu city first discovered in 2007, archaeologists have since embarked on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the Chinese civilization evolving there at the time.

WU LEI LIANGZHU MUSEUM "Various animals and symbolic characters were inscribed on these pottery jars and even jade artworks. Experts say it shows that Liangzhu ancestors started to record their ways of life about 5,000 years ago, a landmark discovery in tracking down the beginning of Chinese writing characters."

To better promote Liangzhu culture, the Liangzhu museum was redesigned to attract more visitors from China and abroad.

ZHOU LIMING, DIRECTOR LIANGZHU MUSEUM "Next we plan to create more comic books and even creative products to largely promote Liangzhu culture among the younger generations."

Liangzhu Ancient City is considered another evidence of the ancient Chinese civilization. It is also the first Neolithic site in China to be submitted for world heritage status.

LIU BIN, DIRECTOR ZHEJIANG CULTURAL RELICS AND ARCHEOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE "Applying for the World Heritage List will also help better preserve this ancient civilization, since people from across the world will know about it."

Liangzhu's excavation is still underway and local authorities are using the latest technologies and facilities to monitor the sites. They are also set to open the Liangzhu Archaeological Park soon in order to help people get more information about the city's glorious past. WL, CGTN, HZ.