Xinkailiu Site

Xinkailiu Site

The Xinkailiu Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Xinkailiu Ancient Cultural Site

The Xinkailiu Scenic Area is situated in the central part of Xingkai Lake, where visitors can admire both the Greater Xingkai Lake and the Lesser Xingkai Lake, and the ecological environment remains intact.

Legend says that the Seven Fairies often secretly came down to Xingkai Lake to bathe and play. One day, while they were having great fun, a sudden strong wind blew up, and the lake was filled with turbulent, muddy waves. In haste, one of the fairies threw a silk scarf into the air, which instantly transformed into a long sandbank stretching from east to west. Since then, Xingkai Lake has been divided into two parts — a larger and a smaller lake — leaving behind the rare and natural bathing beach of Xinkailiu for people to enjoy.

Every summer, the Xinkailiu Natural Bathing Beach attracts thousands of tourists who come here to escape the summer heat and experience a break from the hustle and bustle of city life, reconnecting with nature.

The scenic area features attractions such as the Xinkailiu Ancient Cultural Site, reed marshes, wild grapevines, a ten-li apricot blossom forest, and a green corridor along the lakeshore. On the Lesser Xingkai Lake, there are also lakeside villas and boardwalks where visitors can go birdwatching, fishing, and even stay overnight.

Historical Introduction: The Xinkailiu Ancient Cultural Site records the ancient culture of China’s Neolithic Age from 6,000 years ago. The site is located on a lakeshore ridge 1.5 kilometers east of Xinkailiu, between the Greater and Lesser Xingkai Lakes in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province. The site stretches 300 meters from east to west and 80 meters from north to south, covering an area of approximately 24,000 square meters. In 1972, an excavation of 280 square meters uncovered 32 Neolithic graves, 10 fishing cellars, and a large number of pottery pieces characterized by fish scale patterns, net patterns, and wave patterns, as well as stone, bone, and tooth or horn tools primarily used for fishing and hunting. These findings indicate that the people of the time lived mainly by fishing and hunting, with fishing as their primary livelihood. Based on dating and tree-ring calibration, the site is estimated to be 6,080 ± 300 years old. This is a distinctive site unlike other Neolithic cultural sites in China or abroad. The type of cultural remains represented by this site has been named the "Xinkailiu Culture." In 1981, the Xinkailiu Site was designated as a Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 1983, with approval from the provincial government, a stone monument for the “Xinkailiu Site” was erected at the original location.

In 2019, the Xinkailiu Site was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units