Shaliuhe Site

Shaliuhe Site

The Shaliuhe Site is a cultural heritage site protected by Gangcha County.

Shaliuhe Site

Located on the east bank of the Shaliuhe River south of Gangcha County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, this site is divided into eastern and western sections by the Shaliuhe Bridge. The eastern section lies along the Shaliuhe River in the western part of Hongshan Village, Shaliuhe Township. It borders the Gangcha–Tianjun Highway to the south, a hydrological station to the northwest, a village to the north, and an oil depot in Gangcha County to the east. The site covers an area of approximately 160×60 meters, with a cultural deposit thickness of about 30–100 centimeters. About 40×40 meters of the southwestern part of the site were excavated during road construction, leaving behind a large pit. The surrounding cliffs of the pit reveal ash layers and pits, which contain numerous pottery shards, mixed bones, and fish bones. A 4-meter-long, 0.8-meter-high (thickness unknown) stone wall, built with stacked stones, is also exposed along the riverbank. The pit retains remnants of ash pits, house structures, and hearths. The ash pits are circular, with unclear bottoms, while only the circular living surfaces of the houses remain, with diameters of about 430 centimeters. In the center of the rooms, there are stone-built hearths, which have been disturbed and their original structure is unclear. Although many pottery shards are found at the site, they are mostly small fragments, making it difficult to identify vessel shapes. Based on the pottery types, there are clay red pottery pieces from the Qijia Culture period and coarse, sand-tempered pottery pieces from the Kayue Culture period. Stone tools include stone knives, discoid tools, and stone axes, among which discoid tools are more common. This is a site where Qijia and Kayue cultures coexisted. The western section of the site was completely destroyed during road construction. Its estimated size of about 60×60 meters is based on pottery shards found on the ground surface. These pottery shards are largely similar to those of the eastern section. This is the westernmost distribution of Qijia Culture remains within Qinghai Province and the only known Qijia Culture site along Qinghai Lake to date. The eastern section of the site is designated as a county-level cultural heritage protection unit.