The special exhibition "Ancient Jiangnan, Land and Sea - 50th Anniversary of Hemudu Culture Discovery Archaeological Achievements" opened at the National Museum of China on the 7th. The exhibition showcases 324 artifacts excavated from various sites of Hemudu Culture, including pottery, stone tools, bone tools, shell tools, wooden objects, and textiles, vividly presenting the diverse social production and daily life of the Hemudu people.

The Hemudu Culture dates back approximately 7,000 to 5,000 years and is one of the most significant Neolithic cultures in the Yangtze River Basin, serving as an outstanding representative of prehistoric Chinese civilization. In 1973, the Hemudu site was first discovered, revealing remnants of large-scale pole-supported wooden structures dating back six to seven thousand years, along with extensive evidence of cultivated rice and a rich array of animal and plant remains. This discovery provided invaluable physical evidence for understanding the origin and development of Chinese civilization, establishing the special status of Hemudu Culture within Chinese archaeology.

The discovery of Hemudu Culture opened a clear window for reconstructing the history of the Neolithic period in southern China, challenging the previously held belief in a single-origin theory centered around the Central Plains for the origin of Chinese civilization. It demonstrated that both the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin were birthplaces of Chinese culture. Hemudu Culture has since become a widely recognized branch of Chinese Neolithic archaeological culture. To this day, it continues to play a unique role in historical research, particularly in the fields of the origin and development of rice agriculture, the emergence of pole-supported wooden structures, and the prehistoric settlement patterns in southern regions.

The exhibition will officially open to the public on November 8th.