The category includes sites such as Liangzhu in east China"s Zhejiang Province, the Yin Ruins in Henan, Sanxingdui in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Old Summer Palace ruins in Beijing, the Xixia Imperial Tombs and the Great Wall. These sites attest to China"s million-year human history, 10,000-year cultural history and more than 5,000-year-old civilization.

　　China now has 150 such archaeological sites. A total of 65 national archaeological site parks have been established based on some of these sites, incorporating the surrounding areas.

　　Luoyang, a city in Henan with 4,000 years of urban history and more than 1,500 years as a capital, is home to several major archaeological sites that are closely woven into the modern cityscape.

　　"Several major archaeological sites lie within an east-west stretch of less than 50 kilometers along the Luo River, including Erlitou, the Yanshi Shang Dynasty Capital Ruins, the Han-Wei Luoyang Ancient City site, the Sui-Tang Luoyang City site and the Mangshan tombs," said Zhao Xiaojun, head of the Luoyang municipal cultural heritage bureau. "The density, scale, time span and richness of historical content are rare in the world."

　　This photo taken on Jan. 29, 2024 shows the details of a turquoise dragon-form artifact at Chinese Archaeological Museum in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li He)

　　As early as the 1950s, Luoyang developed a new urban area away from the old city and required archaeological excavations before construction began. Authorities have adopted site-specific regulations to protect these archaeological sites. The Sui-Tang Luoyang City site, the Han-Wei Luoyang Ancient City site and Erlitou have all become national archaeological site parks and cultural landmarks woven into city life.