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Ancient City of Zheng and Han Declared as a National Archaeological Site Park

A few days ago, the Assessment Team of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage completed on-site inspection and review on the declaration of Ancient City of Zheng and Han in Xinzheng for the title of the “National Archaeological Site Park”. This means Ancient City of Zheng and Han is in a critical period of striving for being a National Archaeological Site Park.

The official from Xinzheng Tourism and Cultural Relics Bureau told the reporter, Ancient City of Zheng and Han is located in Xinzheng, at the intersection of Huangshui River (ancient Qinshui River) and Shuangji River (ancient Weishui River). It looks like an irregular rectangle, with an area of 16 square kilometers. With the wall along the slope and beside a stream, this magnificent building is now one of city walls which are preserved best and most complete in the world, compared with others established at the same time.

The south-to-east partition wall in the old city divides Ancient City of Zheng and Han into two parts—the West City and the East City. The former is mainly the habitation of the nobility, including the Palace Site and Han State Temple Site. The latter is divided into the residential area, the military habitation, and the handicraft area, including the large-scale State Site and the Temple Site of Zheng, the Nobility Cemetery Site of Zheng, and workshop sites for casting copper and iron, and making jade and bones.

In the west and south of Ancient City of Zheng and Han, there are 22 huge royal mausoleums of Han, as well as Zhuanggong Wang Mu Tai (a table for missing mother of Duke Zhuang of Zheng), Dressing Table, Shouyin Table, Jili Table, and Xuansheng Table. Due to its important location in the Central Plains in ancient times, Ancient City of Zheng and Han was a political, military, economic, cultural and commercial center of various states.

Early in 1961, the Ancient City of Zheng and Han was listed as one of the first batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, and was selected as one of the “top 100 archaeological discoveries of China in 20th century” in 2001. In 2005, it was listed as one of the first batch of 36 large-scale sites under national special protection, and in 2006, it was included into one of key cultural relics protection projects for 100 large-scale relics sites by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Since December 18, 2013 when Ancient City of Zheng and Han was approved to be as the “National Archaeological Site Park” by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Xinzheng has actively implemented the strategy of “Eco-Preservation for Sites”, and promoted the project construction of Ancient City of Zheng and Han Archaeological Park, to achieve the harmonious coexistence of cultural relic’s protection and urban development.

Zhengzhou has successively entrusted the Architecture and Urban Planning Department of the Tongji University, and Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage to formulate the Preservation Planning on Ancient City of Zheng and Han Site, the Design of the Feasible Program on Tomb Museum of Zheng’s Nobilities in Ancient City of Zheng and Han, the Protection Display Program of the Northeast-corner City Wall Site in Ancient City of Zheng and Han, and the General Planning on Ancient City of Zheng and Han Archaeological Park. The protection display projects of three sites—the Han Iron-casting Site in the Middle of Northern Wall, the Back Bay Comprehensive Site, and the Dawulou Handicraft Workshop Site, have been approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to set up, and now the design plan is being formulated.

Xinzheng has invested a total of nearly RMB 600 million, and launched the demolition of villages which took up the site protection zone in succession, completing the construction of sites displaying, such as the Chariots Pit Site Museum of Zheng, the Northeast-corner City Wall Site Park, and the Zheng Feng Park.

In addition, Xinzheng has gradually transferred citizens from the old urban area to the Northern Area and the Eastern Area, to reserve substantial amounts of land for the construction of the Ancient City of Zheng and Han Archaeological Park which was included into the project library of the Construction and Upgrading of Henan, the Eco-preservation for Sites of Zhengzhou, and the Ecological Construction of Zhengzhou, and was vigorously supported in the aspects of funds and policies.

Now, according to the achievements of archaeological exploration, excavation, and research, Xinzheng is accelerating the formulation of all site parks’ implementation and planning in the Protection Planning on the Ancient City of Zheng and Han Site, so as to reproduce what it looked like a thousand years ago as soon as possible.

Copyright by Zhengzhou Municipal Tourism Administration