Dadianzi Site

Dadianzi Site

The Dadianzi Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Dadianzi Site is located on a second-level terrace 1 kilometer east of Dadianzi Village, Baoguotu Township, Aohan Banner. Covering an area of 70,000 square meters, it is a settlement site from the Lower Xiajiadian Culture dating back 4,000 years. The site contains residential structures and palace ruins within the city walls, an encircling moat outside the walls, and a burial area to the north of the moat. From 1974 to 1983, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Archaeological Institute conducted four archaeological excavations here, uncovering 804 tombs and retrieving over 1,200 remarkably exquisite artifacts including pottery, jade, lacquerware, bone tools, bronze, and gold items—artifacts that reflect the former prosperity of this settlement. Experts describe the Dadianzi site as one of the central hubs of the Lower Xiajiadian Culture. Within the range of Chifeng and even the broader northeastern region, no comparable cultural remains surpass those found at Dadianzi. The site includes both a living settlement and a burial ground, earning it the title “a unique masterpiece at home and abroad.”

The burial grounds of the deceased reflect the society of the living. The various types of tombs unearthed at Dadianzi have allowed us to reconstruct the daily lives and social statuses of the inhabitants who lived here three to four thousand years ago. The owners of the 13 tombs containing jue (wine vessels) were leaders from different periods—these tombs are larger in scale and contain more burial objects, indicating the high status of their occupants during their lifetimes. Due to its unparalleled archaeological value, the Dadianzi Site was designated as part of the fourth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council in 1996. It was also recognized as one of China’s Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries of the 20th century. A comprehensive report reflecting its archaeological findings, the large-volume book Dadianzi, was published and distributed domestically and internationally by Science Press in 1996, and it won the Third Prize of the China Social Science Fund.

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Further Reading:

· Fourth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units