Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province, long regarded as the nation's paradise city, is often associated with spots of natural beauty such as the resplendent West Lake and its leisurely lifestyle.
A city that has been the capital of many ancient Chinese dynasties, and given rise to many renowned literary and artistic personalities both throughout history and at present,
Hangzhou is also home to sites containing relics of some of the earliest Chinese civilizations, such as the famous Liangzhu Culture and the more recently discovered Kuahuqiao Culture.
Chinese historians generally regard the Liangzhu Culture as the first peak of Hangzhou's development, while the history of civilization in the city dates back 8,000 years, starting with Kuahuqiao Culture of the Neolithic Age in its suburb Xiaoshan district.
Remarkable jade artifacts
Named after the place where it was first discovered in 1936, Liangzhu Culture is a late Neolithic (or Chalcolithic) culture dating back to 3310 - 2250 BC.
The Neolithic Age was a period when humans first learned to tend plants and animals and eventually domesticate crops and animals.
The Liangzhu Culture, and the making of black-based and black-burnished pottery, represent the earliest Chalcolithic Culture in southeast China.
Well known for its large number of marvelous jade artifacts, Liangzhu Culture succeeded the Majiabang Culture and later became part of the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th Century BC).
The most remarkable feature of Liangzhu Culture is the large number and high quality of green jade artifacts, and their religious importance.
Many other cultures contemporary to the Liangzhu Culture also created jade items, but none could compare to those of the Liangzhu.
Unlike the later dynastic periods, the Neolithic jades are easily distinguishable by style, quality, and the technique used to make them. The Liangzhu jades are set far apart from those of other cultures.
Two types of jades, called "bi" and "cong" respectively, were prominent for their ritual use in Liangzhu culture.
The jade called bi is a circular ring used to worship heaven, and the cong is an elongated square tube used to worship earth.
