Continue the chapter of civilization and learn from the past | Sanxingdui: A wake-up call moves the world's Sanxingdui Museum | Xi Jinping

On the afternoon of the 26th, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Sanxingdui Museum in Deyang City, Sichuan Province to learn about the excavation and research of historical and cultural sites, the protection and restoration of cultural relics, and so on.

The bright moon is shining, and the stars are far away. To the north of Sanxingdui Town in Guanghan, Sichuan, the ancient Mamu River meanders and flows, forming a crescent like terrace in Sanxingcun - Moonlight Bay. There were three undulating loess mounds on the riverbank facing each other, which were recorded in the county annals of the Qing Dynasty as "Three Stars Accompanying the Moon". Later people learned that these three beautiful named mounds were the ancient city walls of Sanxingdui, which had existed for thousands of years.

This is a bronze statue taken recently at the new building of Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

Sanxingdui is the largest, longest lasting, and most abundant archaeological site of the pre Qin period known to date in the southwestern region of China. The ancient city area within the site is about 3.6 square kilometers, and it flourished during the mid to late Shang Dynasty, which dates back more than 3000 years. The bronze vertical eyed mask with protruding eyes and huge ears, the bronze standing statue with a height of over two meters, the nearly 4-meter-high bronze divine tree, and the gold mask... represented by the unearthed cultural relics from the "sacrificial pit" in Sanxingdui, showcase a grand momentum and shine brilliantly in the starry sky of Chinese civilization.

On September 28, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the 23rd collective study of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee that we must attach great importance to archaeological work, strive to build archaeology with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese style, and better understand The long-standing, broad and profound Chinese civilization provides strong support for promoting Chinese excellent traditional culture and enhancing cultural self-confidence.

The ongoing archaeological work at the Sanxingdui Site is a vivid practice of building archaeology with Chinese characteristics, style, and grandeur. Sanxingdui Archaeology has concentrated the strength of important domestic research institutions, innovated the research model of large-scale archaeological excavations in China, and formed a multidisciplinary cooperation and open platform.

At No. 8 "Sacrificial Pit" at the Sanxingdui Site in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, archaeological team members exchanged ideas in a constant temperature and humidity archaeological "shelter". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

In the archaeological "cabin" with constant temperature and humidity, archaeologists wearing "protective clothing" are carrying out work at the "Holy Land" in ancient Shu. Thousands of ancient treasures such as gold masks, bronze statues, bronze statues, jade cong, and ivory have reappeared in the sky. Silk traces have been found in the ashes, the formation age of "sacrificial pits" has been accurately determined, rice has been discovered in plant archaeology, and ivory has been traced in animal archaeology. The Sanxingdui archaeological site has produced fruitful results, providing strong evidence of the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization.

It has been nearly a century since the first discovery of Sanxingdui. Looking back at time, the earliest discovery began in the late 1920s and early 1930s, when a pile of jade and pottery fragments were discovered in Moonlight Bay, sparking a wave of imagination.

In 1986, archaeologists worked at the Sanxingdui archaeological excavation site. Shen Jizhong

The continuous archaeological work began after the establishment of New China, and a huge surprise arrived in 1986. The "Sacrificial Pits" at No. 1 and No. 2 of Sanxingdui were accidentally discovered, "Sleeping for thousands of years, waking up to shock the world", and thousands of rare treasures emerged one after another. The archaeological discovery at Sanxingdui shocked the world and is hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century by humanity.

In 2019, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology restarted the archaeology of the Sanxingdui Sacrificial Area and conducted investigations at multiple locations simultaneously. In one of the exploration ditches, a small piece of bronze green just appeared. With this stunning glimpse, six new "sacrificial pits" were discovered one after another.

Recently, many visitors visited the Sanxingdui Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration Museum. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Kun

In order to share archaeological achievements with the public as soon as possible, at the end of 2021, the Sanxingdui Museum innovatively opened the Sanxingdui Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration Museum inside the museum, becoming one of the favorite "check-in spots" for visitors. Here, not only can you enjoy the benefits of "seeing first" the latest unearthed cultural relics in Sanxingdui, but you can also see on-site how cultural relic restoration technicians "awaken" cultural relics.

This is the outdoor view of the newly built Sanxingdui Museum on the banks of the Duck River. Shen Jizhong

The new Sanxingdui Museum, inspired by the architectural design of "Three Stars Accompanying the Moon", will be put into trial operation on July 27th. Hundreds of newly unearthed "heavy objects" will be exhibited for the first time, AI algorithms will be used to restore cultural relics, and naked eye 3D restoration of archaeological "makeshift cabins"... The new museum will comprehensively enhance the viewing experience by utilizing newly unearthed cultural relics, new research achievements, new technology, etc., opening a "feast" of Sanxingdui's historical and cultural heritage.

This is an interior shot taken recently at the new building of Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

Sanxingdui Archaeology is an ongoing archaeological excavation. The sacrificial pit has made Sanxingdui famous worldwide, but for such a large site, the mysterious veil has just been lifted. It is reported that although a large number of important cultural relics have been unearthed in Sanxingdui, the excavated area currently only accounts for about two thousandths of the total site area.

This is a newly exhibited golden mask taken recently at the new building of Sanxingdui Museum. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

There is still a lot of archaeological work to be done in Sanxingdui, and further exploration is needed in the palace area and royal tombs. Archaeologists will "reveal" more stories about the civilization of Sanxingdui in the future

Visual | jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency's domestic department and Xinhua News Agency's Sichuan branch