Shangcheng Site

Shangcheng Site

The Shangcheng Site is a cultural tourism attraction and a patriotic education base.

The Shangcheng Site is located within the urban area of Zhengzhou. Covering an area of 25 square kilometers, it was discovered in the autumn of 1950. It is an early Shang Dynasty urban site predating the "Yinxu" ruins in Anyang, and still features a well-preserved city wall from the Shang period with a circumference of 7 kilometers. The site is roughly rectangular in shape, with the northern wall measuring approximately 1,692 meters, the western wall about 1,700 meters, the southern wall and eastern wall both around 1,870 meters, resulting in a total perimeter of nearly 7 kilometers. The base of the wall is about 20 meters wide, narrowing to over 5 meters at the top, with a reconstructed height of around 10 meters. Based on the overall dimensions, the construction of the Zhengzhou Shangcheng’s walls required approximately 870,000 cubic meters of rammed earth, with an estimated 1.74 million cubic meters excavated before ramming.

In the central-eastern and northeastern parts of the Zhengzhou Shangcheng, covering about one-sixth of the site, there are various uneven rammed earth foundations. These platforms are irregularly arranged but denser near the northeastern corner and sparser in the southwest. Over 20 Shang Dynasty rammed earth architectural foundations have been discovered in the northeast area alone, ranging from over 2,000 square meters to just over 100 square meters. Some of these foundations still preserve postholes, column base grooves, and stone plinths, indicating that this area was the palace district of the Shang Dynasty. In the central-southern part, another rammed earth foundation site believed to be the residence of slave owners has been found. Smaller building foundations within the city may indicate areas where commoners lived. Additionally, many agricultural tools have been unearthed, suggesting that some open spaces within the Shangcheng were likely used for farming—an early urban characteristic.

Outside the Zhengzhou Shangcheng, a number of handicraft workshop sites have been discovered, laid out in a planned manner. About 300 meters outside the northern wall lies a bronze-casting workshop site, with a bone-tool workshop site found further north. Approximately 600 meters outside the southern wall is another bronze-casting workshop, and about 1,300 meters outside the western wall is a pottery workshop. Shang Dynasty burial sites are mostly distributed outside the city.

Tens of thousands of artifacts have been unearthed from the Zhengzhou Shangcheng, including exquisite jade items such as jade ge (dagger-axes), jade spades, jade zhang (ceremonial blades), and agate, reflecting a highly developed jade craftsmanship. A rare gold foil with a kui-dragon pattern was excavated from a sacrificial pit in the northeastern corner of the site. Two large bronze square ding (tripod cauldrons), standing 1.4 meters and 0.87 meters tall respectively, were found outside the western wall. A complete primitive celadon-glazed porcelain zun (wine vessel), 27 cm high, wheel-made and decorated with mat and basket patterns, was unearthed from a Shang tomb outside the western wall. Its grayish-white, fine, and hard body is coated with a shiny, translucent yellow-green glaze, pushing China's ceramic history back 3,000 years. Other finds include exquisitely crafted ivory gu (wine cups) and combs, over 460 perforated shells used as currency, as well as wind instruments such as stone and clay xun (ocarinas), showcasing the long history of ancient Chinese music.

On March 4, 1961, the State Council designated the Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty Site as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The discovery of the Zhengzhou Shangcheng Site provides valuable physical evidence for the study of the Shang Dynasty’s slave society and the formation and development of ancient Chinese cities.

Time Needed

2–3 hours

Transportation

City buses No. 64 and K206 go directly to the site.

Admission

3 RMB

Opening Hours

8:00-18:00

Location

Chengnan Road, Guancheng District, Zhengzhou (near Qifu Art Gallery)