Zhanglinggang Cultural Site

Zhanglinggang Cultural Site

The Zhanglinggang Cultural Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

Zhanglinggang Cultural Site

Located in a hilly area 1.5 kilometers north of Anyi County, at 115°32′ east longitude and 28°51′ north latitude, the site covers an area of more than 10 square li. In 1988, stone tools from the Paleolithic Age were discovered here. They were excavated and identified by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as belonging to China’s Paleolithic Age, dating back approximately 50,000 years.

In September 1988, Hu Xiangang, a young employee at the Anyi County Food Factory and an “archaeology enthusiast,” discovered Paleolithic stone tools at Zhanglinggang (known as the “Nine Dragons Rushing to the Hill” among Anyi’s scenic spots), located 1.5 kilometers north of Anyi County. On December 22 of the same year, the findings were sent to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing for identification. In May 1989, experts from the institute and a Jiangxi Provincial archaeological team came to Anyi to conduct excavation and investigation, which lasted nearly one month. To confirm this scientific discovery and to find more supporting evidence, archaeologists reviewed documents such as the Anyi County Annals, the Anyi Soil Annals, the Anyi—, as well as meteorological records related to Anyi. They surveyed the Zhanglinggang area north of the county, Fenghuang Mountain east of the county, Taishan Mountain west of the county, and the banks of the Liao River south of the county, where they found a large number of Paleolithic stone tools, such as “stone cores,” “flakes,” “points,” “choppers,” and “scrapers.” On July 7 of the same year, the China Culture Daily published a report titled “Paleolithic Culture Discovered for the First Time in Jiangxi Province,” announcing this major discovery nationwide: “A joint investigation team formed by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Work Team, and the Anyi County Cultural Center conducted surveys near the county town at Zhanglinggang, Fenghuang Mountain, and Shangxu Village, discovering three Paleolithic sites and obtaining dozens of artifacts from the Paleolithic Age. This discovery of Paleolithic culture in Jiangxi is the first of its kind. It fills a gap in the known provincial distribution of Paleolithic sites in China, provides important material for the study of China’s Paleolithic culture, and pushes back the history of human activity in the Jiangxi region from about eight to nine thousand years ago to approximately fifty thousand years ago.”

In 2005, Jiangxi archaeological expert Cao Keping published an article titled “Paleolithic Chronology in Jiangxi” in the journal Southern Cultural Relics, using extensive historical evidence to discuss the prehistoric timeline of Zhanglinggang. This pushed back the history of human activity in the Jiangxi region from about eight to nine thousand years ago to approximately fifty thousand years, and then further to two hundred thousand years.

Source: Anyi County People's Government Website