Longwan Ruins

　　    A ruin from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Located in the southwest corner of Qianjiang City, Hubei Province, spanning the towns of Longwan and Zhangjin, it lies 55 kilometers northwest of the former Chu capital Jilan City ruins. The central geographical coordinates are: 112°42′ east longitude, 30°14′ north latitude. The ruins are distributed over an area 12 kilometers long from east to west and 9 kilometers wide from north to south, with cultural layers about 2–3 meters thick. It is an important cluster of ruins mainly featuring relics of the Eastern Zhou Chu culture.

　　    Discovered during the 1984 cultural relics survey, there are 35 sites and burial grounds in total. These include 1 Neolithic site, 1 Western Zhou site, 22 Eastern Zhou sites (two of which are overlaid on top of Neolithic strata), 3 burial sites, and 8 sites from the Western Han to the Song Dynasty. Divided by Fengjia Lake, the area is separated into eastern and western zones:

　　    The eastern zone consists of the Zhanghua Terrace ruins. Centered around the rammed earth platform base at Fangyingtai in Longwan, it forms a cluster of ruins including Fangyingtai, Zhengjiahu, Shuizhangtai, Hehetai, Huangjia Tai, Liujiatai, Zhangjiatai, and Zhengjiatai, covering a total area of about 60 million square meters. Among them, the Fangyingtai site is elevated 2–4 meters above the surrounding ground, with an area of approximately 40,000 square meters and cultural layers 1.5–4 meters thick. In 1987, after a comprehensive survey and investigation, the No. 1 platform base at Fangyingtai was excavated, revealing the foundation of a large Chu palace. The foundation has a double-layered terrace: the first layer was built with compacted yellow earth, and the second with brick bases. Between the two layers is a wall made of red-fired earth, containing large post holes, with a gate and a shell-paved road located to the east. Excavated bronze items include door rings, while pottery—mainly gray clay pottery, followed by red clay pottery mixed with sand—is decorated with cord patterns. Artifacts include dou (food vessels), yu (basins), guan (jars), as well as tube tiles and flat tiles. Some scholars believe this location to be the former site of the Zhanghua Terrace built by King Ling of Chu.

　　    The western zone consists of the Huangluogang site and the Eastern Zhou burial sites. The Huangluogang site centers around the Huangluogang city remains. The city walls form an irregular quadrilateral: the eastern wall is about 1,250 meters long, the western wall about 1,335 meters, the southern wall about 1,300 meters, and the northern wall about 1,265 meters, with rammed walls 70–80 meters thick. The southern wall overlays cultural layers, ash pits, and building foundations from the Warring States period, while the western wall was disturbed by ash pits from the Spring and Autumn period. Within the city site, a large number of fragments of Eastern Zhou-era artifacts such as li (tripods), yu (basins), dou (food vessels), and guan (jars) were unearthed. To the southwest outside the city walls, three Chu burial sites were discovered.

　　    In 2001, the State Council designated it as part of the fifth batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites.