The Hou Taiping Relics Cluster

The Hou Taiping Relics Cluster

The Hou Taiping Relics Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Hou Taiping Relics Cluster is located on the right bank of the Dongliao River in Shuangliao City, Siping, Jilin Province. Centered around the Taiping Relics and the Hou Taiping Cemetery, it includes the Bainiu Cemetery as well as other sites such as Dashanjin, Xishanwanzi, Qikeshu, Panshan, Huangtukeng, Gujiazi, Donggangshijia, Dongxianliang, and Boshantun. These are ancient human cemeteries and relics dating from the Neolithic Age to the Warring States Period. In May 2013, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

The cluster stretches nearly 40 kilometers from northeast to southwest. With a large number of sites densely distributed at roughly the same elevation, it boasts rich cultural content and has yielded more than 1,500 artifacts, including pottery, bronze ware, bone and horn tools, shell tools, and jade and stone implements.

Historical Significance

The archaeological discoveries and excavations at the Hou Taiping Relics Cluster have filled a gap in the field archaeology of the Bronze Age in the Dongliao River basin. They provide a reliable basis for identifying the archaeological cultures of various historical periods in the region and for supplementing missing links in their chronological sequences. They also establish a comparative benchmark for studying the cultural chronology of the entire Liao River basin and adjacent areas. Meanwhile, a new cultural type characterized mainly by plain-necked pottery jars and jar-shaped ding vessels has been discovered, tentatively named the "Hou Taiping Culture." This discovery will have an extremely significant impact on the study of the collision, exchange, and development trends between the cultures of the Liao River basin and those of the Nenjiang River basin.

Hou Taiping Village: Hou Taiping Village…… Detailed information on Hou Taiping Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units