Ruins of the Guan Yu Temple in Xingyang

Guan Yu Temple Ruins in Xingyang

The Guan Yu Temple ruins in Xingyang are a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

The ruins of the Guan Yu Temple are located 300 meters south of Guan Yu Temple Village, Yulong Town, Xingyang City. The site dates back to the Shang Dynasty and covers an area of approximately 69,000 square meters. It was discovered during the cultural relics survey for the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

In August 2006, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology began excavation. In July 2006, the institute commenced excavation at the site. The houses were semi-subterranean, while the tombs were oval, oblong vertical pit graves featuring second-level platforms and waist pits. The ash pits and storage pits had relatively regular, straight outward-sloping walls that were narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, shaped like inverted buckets. The remains include ash pits and tombs, with unearthed artifacts comprising stone tools, pottery, and a small number of bronze items. Among the pottery, the representative item is the li cooking vessel, which has a round lip, an upturned flange, a flared mouth, coarse cord marks, and inward-curving legs. The tombs were oval, oblong vertical pit graves with features such as second-level platforms and waist pits. The representative pottery item is the li vessel, characterized by a round lip, an upturned flange, a flared mouth, coarse cord patterns, and inward-curving legs. Stone tools mainly include stone sickles and knives, all of which are polished. Bone artifacts are represented by bone hairpins, which are conical in shape, with some having bird-head carvings at the tips, all polished. Shell artifacts include shell sickles with serrated edges.

The Guan Yu Temple ruins are a large settlement site from the Shang Dynasty, providing valuable material for studying the living environment, human culture, and distribution of Shang culture in the western part of Zhengzhou during that period. The site holds significant academic value.

Fifth Batch of Key Cultural Relics Protection Units of Henan Province

Source: Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics

Guan Yu Temple Village: Guan Yu Temple Village…… More details about Guan Yu Temple Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province