Yongfengku Ruins

Yongfengku Ruins

The Yongfengku Ruins are a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The Yuan Dynasty Yongfengku Ruins are located within the Tang-Song Suburban City ruins on the north side of Zhongshan West Road in Ningbo. Originally the "Changping Granary" from the Southern Song Dynasty, they are the site of an official storage compound in Ningbo during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the first year of the Qingyuan era (1195) during the Southern Song Dynasty, Mingzhou was renamed Qingyuan Prefecture, and the “Changping” granary was established “to store rice and wheat.”

During the Yuan Dynasty, it was renamed the “Yongfengku.” “Officials were assigned to collect various types of confiscated fines and diverse taxes, which were submitted to the provincial government quarterly.” (from *Yuandai Zhizheng Xuzhi*)

In the third year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1370), it was renamed the “Hongji Granary.” “There were four storage buildings, marked with the characters ‘Wen,’ ‘Xing,’ ‘Zhong,’ and ‘Xin’ [literally ‘Culture, Conduct, Loyalty, and Trust’], but they are now ruined.” (from *Chenghua Ningbo Junzhi*)

In September 2001 and March 2002, the Ningbo Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute conducted two rescue excavations at the site. The Yongfengku Ruins are quite extensive, measuring 120 meters from north to south and 80 meters from east to west, with a total floor area of 9,600 square meters. The site centers around two individual building foundations and includes numerous related remains such as brick-paved passageways, courtyards, open drainage ditches, wells, and canals. Over 800 restorable cultural relics were unearthed, making it the largest and most fruitful urban archaeological excavation in Ningbo’s history.

Experts including Xu Pingfang, former director and researcher of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and president of the Chinese Archaeological Society; Fu Xianian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at the Institute of Architectural History of the China Academy of Building Research; and Mao Zhaoxi, former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and professor at Zhejiang University, assessed that the Yongfengku Ruins are large in scale, clearly laid out, and well preserved. They represent the only large-scale Yuan Dynasty architectural site discovered in Ningbo to date, as well as the first ancient local large warehouse site found in China. This discovery reveals new ancient Chinese construction techniques and holds significant importance for the study of Chinese architectural history. A large number of trade ceramics were unearthed, representing renowned kiln systems from various regions across the country during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. These findings reflect the historical reality of Ningbo’s prosperity along the Maritime Silk Road during the Song and Yuan periods, clearly demonstrating that Ningbo was an important trading port on the ancient Maritime Silk Road. The discovery and excavation of these ruins provide crucial archaeological evidence confirming Ningbo as the second-largest foreign trade port city in China during the Yuan Dynasty.

In April 2003, it was named one of the “Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2002” by the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

In June 2006, it was designated as part of the sixth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level