Hongshan Excavations Deepen Evidence of Chinese Civilization Origins
Archaeologists gathered in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, this week for the 2026 Hongshan Culture Conference, where new excavations at the Neolithic Hongshan culture sites are continuing to fill critical gaps in the evidence chain of Chinese civilization. The conference, held August 5-6 under the theme “Hongshan Culture Connects Ancient and Modern, Civilizational Dialogue Toward the Future,” drew guests from 26 countries and international organizations, according to Xinhua News.
A 6,500-Year-Old Legacy
Hongshan culture dates back approximately 6,500 to 5,000 years, primarily distributed across western Liaoning, southeastern Inner Mongolia, and northern Hebei. The culture is named after the Hongshanhou site near Chifeng in Inner Mongolia and is considered one of the earliest complex societies in East Asia.
The most significant Hongshan site, Niuheliang, was discovered in 1981 with systematic excavation beginning in 1983. Over four decades of work, archaeologists have uncovered a complete ritual complex of altars, temples, and tombs, along with numerous jade and pottery artifacts. In 2023, the National Cultural Heritage Administration identified the Niuheliang site as an empirical representative of the first stage of the “ancient state era” (5800-5200 years ago), confirming its central role in the origins of Chinese civilization.
New Discoveries Reshape Understanding
Recent excavations have yielded remarkable findings that deepen understanding of Hongshan culture’s sophistication. At the Niuheliang core area’s first location, archaeologists have identified nine large platform foundations and associated facilities covering approximately 100,000 square meters, dating back to around 5,800 years ago. The site protection area and surrounding regions have now confirmed more than 60 site points.
Among the most striking new discoveries are seven red-burnt earth pits at Platform 7 of the first location, arranged in a pattern resembling the Big Dipper constellation. Jia Xiaobing, director of the World Archaeology Research Office at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and leader of the Niuheliang field archaeology project, told Xinhua that the arrangement suggests Hongshan ancestors’ astronomical knowledge. “We speculate that this is the Hongshan ancestors’ concretization of their understanding of cosmic celestial phenomena into a model,” he said.
At the second location, a triple concentric circle altar with a maximum diameter of about 22 meters rises layer by layer from inside to outside, corresponding to winter solstice, spring/autumn equinox, and summer solstice solar nodes. In July 2026, archaeologists also discovered a special multi-layered rammed earth pit with up to 14 layers, possibly related to sacrificial activities.
“From the circular altar to the newly discovered red-burnt earth pits, this reflects the ancestors’ ideas of observing the sky, marking time, revering heaven, and honoring the earth,” Jia said, noting that these findings provide earlier clues for understanding later ritual traditions.
A Distinct Path to Civilization
Wang Wei, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Academic Divisions, emphasized the significance of Hongshan culture in understanding Chinese civilization’s diverse yet unified pattern. “Hongshan culture is not only an important link in the civilizational process of the Western Liao River basin, but also a very critical link in the diverse and unified pattern of Chinese civilization,” he said.
Wang noted that Hongshan culture progressed from “beauty through jade” to “value through jade, communicating with spirits through jade,” with jade artifacts becoming carriers of identity, power, and belief. This “jade civilization” path challenges Western-centric definitions of civilization based on writing, cities, and metallurgy, demonstrating that there are multiple routes to civilization.
As China Daily reported, the Niuheliang site’s exquisite jade artifacts, large-scale stone tombs, and goddess temples demonstrate the highly developed civilization of the time, pushing the origins of Chinese civilization further back in history.
International Dialogue and Cooperation
The conference also served as a platform for international cultural exchange. Khaled Nazmy, Ambassador of Egypt to China, said, “Our gathering today is proof that our ancient heritage and civilization are not only a chapter in history, but also a living legacy that continues to inspire us, bring us together and remind us of our shared responsibility to preserve our cultural heritage and deepen our friendship.”
Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, said in a video speech that “Hongshan culture represents a foundational chapter in human development. Its ritual architecture and extraordinary jade craftsmanship reveal humanity’s early spiritual and social evolution.”
As Bastille Post reported, a key outcome of the conference was the signing of the Liaoning-Hebei-Inner Mongolia Cooperation Agreement on Archaeological Research into Hongshan Culture, a move seen as a step toward coordinated protection and cross-regional collaboration.
Rao Quan, head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, called for building a robust global communication network for Hongshan culture, leveraging platforms including international archaeological cooperation, overseas thematic exhibitions, and high-level academic dialogues.
Toward World Heritage Status
The Hongshan culture sites were formally included in China’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2012, and a joint application for UNESCO World Heritage status is being pursued by Chifeng in Inner Mongolia and Chaoyang in Liaoning. The application has gained momentum, with NPC deputy Xie Weidong proposing in March 2026 to accelerate the Niuheliang site’s application.
“Niuheliang fills a gap of over 1,000 years in Chinese civilization history and provides the most solid evidence for the theory of the origin of Chinese civilization,” Xie said, as reported by China Daily.
Public interest in the site is surging. In 2025, Chaoyang saw an 18% year-on-year increase in tourist visits, and the number of visitors to the Niuheliang Site Museum increased by nearly 122%, according to China Daily.
What Lies Ahead
As Reference News noted in its comprehensive background analysis, Hongshan culture’s significance extends far beyond regional archaeology. It sits at the crossroads of Eurasian and Pacific cultural spheres, making it a key node for understanding prehistoric intercontinental cultural exchange. The culture’s location in the Western Liao River basin, where the “Painted Pottery Road” from the west met the “Jade Road” of the Pacific Rim, has made it a focal point for scholars studying early global connections.
Archaeological work continues at the Niuheliang site, with researchers seeking to understand the exact nature of the seven red-burnt earth pits, the full meaning of the Goddess Temple, and the large settlements that would have supported the ritual center. As the evidence chain grows, it makes Chinese civilization’s 5,000-year history increasingly observable and interpretable.
Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, an American sinologist, called Hongshan culture “one of the few known Neolithic cultures, serving as a typical research sample of humanity’s transition from hunting-gathering to agricultural society, truly an archaeological miracle.”
With the joint World Heritage application advancing and international academic cooperation expanding, the Hongshan culture story is poised to reach a global audience. As the China Daily symposium coverage noted, the culture’s “emphasis on ritual over secular matters” preserved the earliest known axially symmetrical ritual architecture complex in China, providing a unique window into humanity’s early spiritual and social evolution.
For now, the excavations continue, and each new discovery adds another piece to the puzzle of how one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations took shape.