Qianshanyang Site

　　    The Qianshanyang Site is located in Bainianmu Village at the southern end of the eastern bank of Qianshanyang, 7 kilometers south of Huzhou City. This area is an alluvial plain of the Taihu Lake basin, with many rivers. There are numerous small hills in the vicinity.

　　    The site stretches about 1 kilometer from east to west and approximately 3 kilometers from north to south, forming part of the East Tiaoxi River. The East Tiaoxi originates from Tianmu Mountain, flows through Deqing, and heads north to the area south of Huzhou’s Ding’an Gate and near Yixiqiao, where it joins the West Tiaoxi before flowing into Taihu Lake. Due to the confluence of the East and West Tiaoxi rivers, water often flows backward; the waves erode the area, causing damage to the site, with thousands of pottery shards and stone tools scattered across the riverbanks.

　　    The site has unearthed fragments of primitive silk fabric and silk threads from the prehistoric era, representing the earliest discovered silk textiles in China to date. These silk fragments were woven using a plain weave technique, with a warp and weft density of forty threads per centimeter each. The site also yielded linen fabric pieces, hemp ropes, and other textile items, indicating that silk and linen fabrics, as well as sericulture and the cultivation of mulberry and ramie, were already quite developed in the Taihu Lake basin at the time. It is considered one of the earliest birthplaces of silk and linen textile production in China. Additionally, wooden paddles were excavated, proving the existence of primitive wooden boats or bamboo rafts. Stone and ceramic net sinkers, bone fishhooks, and fishing nets woven from silk or linen thread suggest the use of various fishing tools. The ancestors of Huzhou were already living a life of "rice and fish," while some hunting and gathering activities still persisted. Over two hundred bamboo-woven items were also found at the site, including baskets, crates, mats, and bamboo ropes. Bamboo was widely used in daily life, farming, textile production, and fishing (such as bamboo "inverted-fork" fishing devices), marking a significant contribution to the history of bamboo weaving technology in China.