Significance

The discovery provides important clues into the study of burial customs and religious and sacrificial rituals during the Hongshan Culture Period some 5,500 years ago. This is not only the first time that such an intact and refined jade figurine and phoenix were unearthed, but also the first time for both relics to be discovered at the same site, which further affirms China's dragon and phoenix culture and the belief that the Chinese people are "descendants of the dragon".

Archeologists say the jade dragons unearthed in the region suggest that the dragon worshipped by Chinese people was a combination of several animals, with its original shape coming from the pig, deer, bear and bird. The dragon met its final shape through long-term artistic processing -- an evolutionary process closely linked to the origin and development of the Chinese civilization.

 Niuheliang Site

Chinese archaeologists have excavated 16 sites at the Niulheliang ruins of the Hongshan Culture over the past two decades.

The Niuheliang Site, covering an area of 50 square kilometers, lies at the juncture of Jianping and Lingyuan counties in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. The site consists of the Temple of the Goddess, stone graves and a sacrificial altar . Since 1983, archeologists have produced prehistoric pottery and jade ware, such as figurines, phoenixes, dragons and other animals with high carving techniques, from the soil. They claim that China's Jade Age prevailed more than 5,000 years ago.

The Goddess Temple at Niuheliang is an important key to this culture. It consists of two groups of earthen and wooden constructions, with painted walls exhibiting triangular geometric patterns in reddish brown, interlaced with yellow and white. Dozens of fragments of sculpted human busts and hands were unearthed, including a life-sized head, red-painted faces and circular blue-jade eyes, which were the earliest goddess statues in China. A large number of animal statues include jade dragons that resemble pig and bird sculptures with high carving techniques.

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