Sericulture's Ancient Beginnings

China is the first country in the world to raise silkworms and make silks. Before cotton was introduced to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, silk was one of the main raw materials for clothing and quilts in ancient China, and silk weaving was an important material for economic exchanges in agricultural and pastoral areas.

Art of Chinese Embroidery

Chinese embroidery, one of the oldest extant needlework forms, has enjoyed an important position in the history of Chinese craftsmanship.

Ancient Chinese Art of Lacquer Painting

Lacquer painting is a technique of decorating the surface of an object with raw or refined lacquer, supplemented by gold, silver, jade, inlays, color and other materials through a series of processes. The shiny lacquer coating is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes.

Chinese Wine: 5000 Years of Brewing

Chinese rice wine occupies a significant place among the world's three major brewing wines—rice wine, grape wine and beer. Ancient Chinese brewing technology was unique and has become the representative model of the Oriental brewing world.

The Origin and Development of Rice Cultivation

As one of the most important grain crops, rice supports more than 50 percent of the global population. Being the birthplace of rice cultivation, China has always contributed its agricultural wisdom to further increase rice production and improve people's livelihood.

Historical Water Conservancy Project in the Pearl River Delta

The Sangyuanwei Polder Embankment System, built during the Song Dynasty (960-1127) in the Pearl River Delta in Foshan, Guangdong province, is one of the largest polder embankment projects of ancient China, extending for 64.84 km and covering an area of 265.4?km2.

Songgu Irrigation Scheme：Time-honored Agricultural Engineering

The Songgu Irrigation Scheme, located in the Oujiang River Basin in Songyang county, Zhejiang province, was included in the list of World Heritage Irrigation Structures.

Chongyi Shangbao Terraces: Fertile Fields on High Mountains

The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces, located in the mountainous region of Chongyi county, east China's Jiangxi province, cover an area of about 3,400 hectares.

Ancient Man-made Islands Support Agriculture: Xinghua Duotian

A world-class marvel is famous for its unique use of water and soil in low-lying areas through dikes, channels and sluices.

Tongjiyan Irrigation System Remains Active after 1000 Years

Tongjiyan Irrigation System (Tongjiyan), located at Lishui city, Zhejiang province and built in 505 AD, is one of the oldest large-scale water conservancy projects in China. The entire irrigation system, together with its inscriptions, is a precious source for studying ancient water conservancy projects.

Tang Sancai: Treasure of Ancient Chinese Ceramic Firing Techniques

As an outstanding symbol of ancient Chinese pottery technology, Tang Sancai appeared in the early Tang Dynasty (618–907). Tang Sancai is a multi-colored pottery, with yellow, green and white being the most predominant colors. The lead glaze of Tang Sancai was toxic, so it was not used in daily utensils, but mostly appeared in the tombs of the nobles in Tang Dynasty.

Hani Rice Terraces: a Model of Harmony Between People and Nature

Hani Rice Terraces, the system of Hani rice-growing terraces, are mainly located in Honghe prefecture, Yunnan province, China, with a total area of over 160,000 acres and a history of more than 1,300 years.

Terracotta Warriors: Eighth Wonder of the World

The Terracotta Warriors, consisting of thousands of life-sized ceramic warriors and horses alongside bronze chariots and weapons excavated in 1973 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

Eastern Wisdom Fires Iron Casting

Archaeological discoveries show that Chinese cast iron technology dates back to Western Zhou Dynasty (1045 -771 BC) when iron and steel objects were used in many areas, about two millennia before the earliest similar evidence from Europe. China's epoch-making contributions to the development of iron casting and iron smelting have been seen throughout history.

Bronze Ware Represents China's Ancient Civilization

The earliest known bronze in China is an almost 5,000-year-old bronze knife unearthed at the Majiayao cultural site in Dongxiang, Gansu province, which contains 6-10 percent tin and is thought to have been made by smelting. By the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC), China had already started to use pottery mold and piece-mold castings to cast bronze wares, which developed into the Shang and Zhou periods (1600-256 BC), culminating in a large bronze ritual civilization unique to China.

Karez System：Lifeblood of Arid Turpan Basin

The famous karez system, a vertical tunnel irrigation system in desert areas, is known as one of the three great projects of ancient China, along with the Great Wall and the Beijing -Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is commonly found in Turpan Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Watertight Bulkhead Technology: Centuries Ahead of its Time

The watertight bulkhead technology of Chinese junks was inscribed both on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO in 2010.

Rudder: Ancient Chinese Shipbuilding Wisdom

China is the first country in the world to invent the rudder, which is a major achievement in China's shipbuilding and navigation technology, and subsequently went on to have a profound influence on the world of navigation.

Bast Fibers Strengthen?Forbidden City Walls

Xiatang Reveals 10,000-Year-Old Artifacts

?Pottery dating back almost 10,000 years are part of the latest discoveries unearthed at the Xiatang historic site. News of the ancient artifacts was revealed at an archaeological conference held from October 25-27 in Xianju county, east China's Zhejiang province.