King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area

King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area

The King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area (Xiongjiazhong National Archaeological Site Park) is located in Zhangchang Village, Chuan Dian Town, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province. It is only 26 kilometers from the ancient city of Chu—Jiannan, and about 35 kilometers from downtown Jingzhou (the ancient city of Jingzhou). The scenic area spans 731 acres and includes the Chariot and Horse Array site, restored exhibition areas of the King Chu’s Tomb and Queen’s Tomb, sacrificial burial pit exhibition areas, as well as landscapes such as gardens and ecological agriculture.

The King Chu Chariot and Horse Array is the highest-ranking, largest in scale, most complete in distribution, and richest in relics among all excavated high-level Chu royal tombs and chariot and horse array sites discovered in China to date. It is an outstanding representation of the pinnacle of Chu culture during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and also an important part of the large-scale ancient cultural site of the ancient Chu capital—Jiannan (Yingdu). The renowned lyricist Qiao Yu praised it as “Terracotta Army in the north, Chariot and Horse Array in the south.” Zhang Zhongpei, former president of the Chinese Archaeological Society, lauded it as “unique in China, unparalleled in the world.”

Development History

In November 2005, the National Cultural Heritage Administration officially approved the archaeological excavation of the King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area (Xiongjiazhong);

In August 2006, under the guidance of a team of cultural relics and archaeology experts, the excavation work officially began;

By 2008, the cumulative excavation area had reached 31,000 square meters, with over 3,000 pieces (sets) of precious cultural relics unearthed. The simultaneous implementation of on-site excavation protection and the preservation of unearthed artifacts was hailed as an outstanding model for the conservation of earthen ruins in southern China.

In March 2010, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Hubei Provincial Government signed the “Joint Construction Agreement for the Great Site Protection Jingzhou Area” in Beijing. Jingzhou became China’s third national-level great site protection zone, following the Xi’an and Luoyang zones.

In June 2010, the King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area, as part of the Jingzhou Ancient City Scenic Project, was included in the ten major key projects of the Eco-Cultural Tourism Circle of Western Hubei construction.

In September 2011, the construction of the scenic area was officially launched;

On October 1, 2012, the scenic area began trial operations;

In December 2013, the King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area (Xiongjiazhong) was officially approved as a National Archaeological Site Park;

In December 2014, the King Chu Chariot and Horse Array Scenic Area was awarded the title of “National Most Cultural (Heritage) Tourism Destination Scenic Area” by the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation and China Tourism News.