Xinhua

2,600-year-old rare relics from NW China exhibited in Beijing - 2019-12-13

A gold ornament displayed in the exhibition, Dec. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Yao Youming)

A gold decoration at the end of a scepter displayed in the exhibition, Dec. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Yao Youming)

A gold ornament in the shape of a tiger displayed in the exhibition, Dec. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Yao Youming)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition featuring relics discovered in China kicked off on Friday at the National Museum of China, Beijing.

More than 300 artifacts, including gold- and bronze-ware, were excavated from an ancient city located in the modern-day village of Liujiawa in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province, northwest China. The site included four graveyards and a number of tombs.

Archaeologists have confirmed that the city was once the capital of Rui, a vassal state in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). One of the tombs is believed to belong to a Rui ruler who lived 2,600 years ago.

The Liujiawa ruins were named one of China's new discoveries in 2018 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. They were also selected as one of the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2018 by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into the prosperous culture and art of that time, said Chong Jianrong, vice director of Shaanxi Provincial Institure of Archaeology.