Shanghai Maqiao Site

Shanghai Maqiao Site

The Shanghai Maqiao Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: Neolithic Age to Shang Dynasty

The Maqiao Site is located in Dongyutang Village, Maqiao Town, Minhang District, Shanghai. Excavations began in December 1959, covering an area of about 5,000 square meters. It is divided into four layers: remains from the Tang and Song dynasties, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Shang and Zhou periods, and the Neolithic Age. A large number of precious cultural relics such as bronze ware, stamped pottery, and stone tools were unearthed, providing valuable physical evidence for the study of ancient Shanghai's history. The site is belt-shaped, longer from north to south and narrower from east to west. The famous Maqiao Culture was named after this site. Its time period directly follows the Liangzhu Culture, but it is distinctly different in cultural characteristics. The Maqiao Culture inherited a small number of cultural elements from the Liangzhu Culture, and these Liangzhu elements did not dominate within the Maqiao Culture. In comparison to the dynastic sequence of the Central Plains region, the Maqiao Culture roughly corresponds to the Xia and Shang dynasties of the Central Plains.

The discovery of the site pushed back the history of the Shanghai area by more than 2,000 years. It also further illustrates the changes in the ancient human living environment and production activities in the Shanghai region from the Neolithic Age to the Tang and Song dynasties, holding high value for the study of Shanghai’s ancient history. In May 2013, it was designated and announced by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Maqiao Town: Over the past twenty years of reform and opening up, especially since Comrade [Deng Xiaoping]’s southern tour passed through Maqiao in 1992, the town has achieved significant economic and social development. It was honored twice as the “National Best Township” in 1990 and 1995, winning the “Earth Cup,” the highest national accolade for townships.

The town is home to 140 industrial enterprises, 10 enterprise groups, 56 foreign-funded enterprises, and modern horticultural farms representing urban agriculture.

It is a pilot town for small-town construction by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, one of China’s Top 100 Towns for Afforestation, and has been rated three times consecutively as… [Details on Maqiao Town++]

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units