Liangtai Ruins

Liangtai Ruins

The Liangtai Ruins are a protected cultural heritage site of Shandong Province.

The Liangtai Ruins are located in Zhenggong Subdistrict, Fangzi District, Weifang City, dating back to the Neolithic Age and the Shang-Zhou period.

In Qianliangtai Village of Zhenggong Subdistrict stands a circular platform about 10 meters high with a top area of approximately 600 square meters — this is the Liangtai.

According to the Gaomi County Annals, Emperor Han of the Han Dynasty built a platform on the west bank of the Wei River, and erected pavilions atop it as a place for cooling off, hence the name “Liangtai” (Cooling Terrace). Archaeological findings show that the Liangtai stretches 200 meters from north to south and 215 meters from east to west, covering a total area of 43,000 square meters. The cultural layers of the site are up to 6 meters thick, with the bottom layer belonging to the Dawenkou Culture, the middle to the Longshan Culture, and the upper to the Yueshi and Western Zhou cultures. The site is extremely rich in content, representing a late Neolithic settlement of the Dawenkou and Longshan cultures, and dates back approximately 5,000 years.

On August 13, 1974, the Liangtai was hit by a catastrophic flood. People from surrounding villages sought refuge on the terrace and survived the deluge. Unfortunately, after the flood, during the "Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture" campaign, most of the earthen platform was destroyed, leaving only 4 meters remaining today. It has since been listed as a key protected ancient heritage site.

Visitors who climb onto the terrace can gaze into the distance, admire the lake views, feel the breeze from all directions, and be filled with thoughts of ancient times — an experience that is both refreshing and uplifting. Given this, the name “Liangtai” could not be more fitting.

About 300 meters northwest of the Liangtai Ruins lies a large burial mound. According to inscriptions on the accompanying stele, the tomb’s occupant was a high-ranking official from the Han Dynasty. A significant number of funerary objects have been unearthed from the tomb, including gold and silver artifacts, but the rarest among them is a bronze beast — resembling a cow yet not quite, with a pair of deer antlers on its head, referred to locally as the “Four-Unlikes.” About 300 meters southwest of the terrace there used to be another ancient tomb. These clusters of tombs vividly reflect the Han Dynasty clan-based patriarchal system’s practice of “clan cemeteries.”

On June 23, 2015, the Liangtai Ruins were designated as part of the fifth group of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units by the People’s Government of Shandong Province.

Zhenggong Subdistrict: Located in Weifang City, Shandong Province, in the central part of the Shandong Peninsula, Zhenggong Subdistrict was established on January 14, 2008. It lies at 119°23′ east longitude and 36°38′ north latitude, on the southeastern shore of the Xiashan Reservoir — the largest reservoir in Shandong Province — and sits at the junction of Gaomi, Anqiu, and Zhucheng cities.

Zhenggong is situated in the north temperate monsoon zone, with a mild climate characterized by cold winters and hot summers, and distinct seasons. Spring is windy and dry, often leading to spring droughts; summers are hot and rainy with high temperatures and humidity; autumn skies are clear but the late season tends to be dry; winters are cold and dry with frequent chilly winds. The annual average temperature is ... For detailed information about Zhenggong Subdistrict, please see ++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units