Nihewan Site Cluster

Nihewan Site Cluster

The Nihewan Site Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Nihewan Site Cluster is located in the central and eastern parts of the Nihewan Basin in Yangyuan County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, and consists of Paleolithic-era sites.

The eastern part of the Nihewan Site Cluster centers around the Donggutuo Site and is a group of early Paleolithic sites, where 24 Paleolithic locations have been discovered. Over ten thousand stone artifacts have been found here, along with a large number of mammal fossils. These date back to approximately one million years ago. These discoveries feature clear stratigraphic contexts and abundant remains, concentrated along the ancient lakeshore of Nihewan, clearly reflecting the activities of humans at that time. This is currently the most densely distributed, richest in stone artifacts, and earliest ancient human cultural site discovered in East Asia.

The central part of the site cluster includes late Paleolithic sites represented by the Hutouliang Site, where 19 Paleolithic locations have been discovered. These date back to between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago. Tens of thousands of stone artifacts have been excavated, along with finely crafted ornaments and a large number of artificially broken mammal fossils.

The Nihewan Site is a renowned area for studying ancient strata, paleontology, ancient humans, ancient geography, and neotectonic movements spanning from 2 to 3 million years ago. It has become a treasure trove for multidisciplinary research on ancient human cultures worldwide. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units