World Heritage Identification Number: 1114
World Heritage since: 2006
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇨🇳 China
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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Discovering the Golden Age of Early Chinese Culture: An Overview of Yin Xu
The archaeological site of Yin Xu, nestled in the heart of Anyang City, approximately 500 kilometers south of Beijing, stands as a testament to the opulence and cultural prowess of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 – 1046 BC). This significant historical location, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, offers a captivating glimpse into the golden age of early Chinese civilization, a period characterized by remarkable advancements in craftsmanship, science, and culture.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The archaeological site of Yin Xu, close to Anyang City, some 500 km south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 - 1046 BC). It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age. A number of royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site, including the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of Shang crafts industry. Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yin Xu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems.
Encyclopedia Record: Yinxu
Yinxu is a Chinese archeological site corresponding to Yin, the final capital of the Shang dynasty. Located in present-day Anyang, Henan, Yin served as the capital during the Late Shang period which spanned the reigns of 12 Shang kings and saw the emergence of oracle bone script, the earliest known Chinese writing. Along with oracle bone script and other material evidence for the Shang's existence, the site was forgotten for millennia. Its rediscovery in 1899 resulted from an investigation into oracle bones that were discovered being sold nearby. The rediscovery of Yinxu marked the beginning of decades of intensive excavation and study. It is one of China's oldest and largest archeological sites, and was selected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2006. Yinxu is located in northern Henan, near modern Anyang and the borders Henan shares with Hebei and Shanxi. Public access to the site is permitted.Additional Site Details
Area: 414 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: 36.1266666666 , 114.3138888888
