“Congcong”, one of the mascots of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, is named after the jade cong unearthed from the ruins of Liangzhu City. Jade cong, also called “yucong”, are mysterious artifacts. Some believe they are used to worship the gods in ancient times. It is a typical cultural relic of the Liangzhu culture.
The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City is located in Yuhang district, Hangzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang Province. It is the centre of what once was a Neolithic state famous for producing jade. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.
In the past years, archeological work has been continuously carried out here. Many cultural relics such as lacquerware, pottery and jade ware have been discovered.
In recent years, there have been more interactions between Liangzhu culture and other regional civilizations in the world. It has held “dialogues” with Stonehenge in London, the Acropolis in Athens, the ancient city of Toledo in Spain and so on. Meanwhile, the documentary Liangzhu and the short video series Liangzhu Micro Forum have been translated into English, Hungarian, Portuguese, Greek, German and other languages.
Together, they help share the story of a a neolithic Chinese culture that existed over 5,000 years ago.
Written by Liu Sha, pictures created by Wang Di.
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