Site of Nanguan Wharf in Shangqiu of Grand Canal

Site of Nanguan Wharf in Shangqiu of Grand Canal

The Shangqiu Nanguan wharf site of the Grand Canal, namely the Shangqiu wharf site of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties, is located between Shangzhe highway and 105 National Highway in Suiyang District of Shangqiu City. The North Bank covers an area of about 245000 square meters, and the South Bank covers an area of about 168000 square meters. This is the first and only urban riverbank discovered in China's Grand Canal archaeology, which is comparable to the scene depicted in the famous painting "Qingming River Painting" of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The Grand Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was about 200 kilometers long in Shangqiu. It flourished from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the early Southern Song Dynasty. After the Southern Song Dynasty moved to the south of the Yangtze River, the Shangqiu section of the Grand Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties gradually declined. By the middle of Ming Dynasty, the Shangqiu section of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties was completely abandoned due to the siltation of the river, and then buried underground due to the flooding of the Yellow River.

In May 2013, the site was approved by the State Council as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

On June 22, 2014, the site was listed in the world cultural heritage list.

geographical position

Located in Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province, the Grand Canal Nanguan wharf site is an ancient site from Sui Dynasty to Song Dynasty. In May 2013, it was approved and announced as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

From Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty to Northern Song Dynasty, Shangqiu was a famous big city in China. It was not only geographically important, but also economically developed. In particular, the quality of silk products ranked first in China, and it was an important silk trading center.

archaeological excavation

In the Nanguan section of Shangqiu at the Bianhe site of Tongji canal of the Grand Canal, archaeologists excavated the riverbank of the "Heshi" District of the city. This is the first discovery of the riverbank of the Grand Canal in China, which is comparable to the scene depicted in the famous painting "Qingming River Painting" of the Northern Song Dynasty. This new archaeological discovery of the Bianhe site in Tongji canal of the Grand Canal will add important archaeological materials to the study of the development history of the Grand Canal in China from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty.

Excavation process of dock site

"In the remains of the river bank, a large number of building bricks and tiles were cleared up, some of which were stacked layer upon layer, and a large number of ceramics were unearthed, including celadon, white porcelain, black porcelain and other kilns all over the country. This shows that in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the buildings on both sides of Bianhe River in the south of song city were dense, and a large number of goods and materials from all over the country were distributed here. The scene at that time should be more prosperous and lively than that depicted in the picture of Qingming River Said Liu Haiwang, archaeological leader of Nanguan section of Shangqiu at Bianhe site and vice president of Henan Institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

Liu Haiwang said: "different from the trapezoidal embankment built on the banks of ordinary river sections, the Bianhe river bank excavated this time is rammed. The vertical and steep bank is very convenient for stopping ships. It has the morphological characteristics of artificial canal wharf revetment. It should be the" Heshi "district and Wharf district of Bianhe River in the south of Nanjing (yingtianfu) city in the Song Dynasty."

Liu Zhaoyun, director of the Municipal Bureau of cultural relics, said in an interview that the Bianhe site is located at daguozhuang and Wuzhuang natural villages in Yeyuan village of the ancient song office of Suiyang District, 2 km south of the ancient Shangqiu City. From 2007 to 2009, the Municipal Bureau of cultural relics organized a comprehensive investigation of the Shangqiu section of the Grand Canal and a trial excavation of the north bank wharf. Since July 2011, Henan Provincial Institute of cultural relics and Archaeology and the Municipal Bureau of cultural relics have jointly carried out two large-scale archaeological excavations on the Nanguan section of Shangqiu, the Bianhe site, and achieved fruitful results.

Detailed data of wharf site

The dock site spans the north and south sides of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties, and is divided into brick and stone structure and rammed earth structure. The top part of the masonry structure is 5-5.5 meters deep from the surface, and the lower part is 8 meters deep from the surface. It is about 150 meters long from east to West (along the river bank) and 52 meters wide. The north bank site covers an area of about 245000 square meters, and the south bank site covers an area of about 168000 square meters. The surface of the wharf is made of lime soil, lime and stone. A drainage ditch made of brick and stone was found in the north bank wharf site. At the west end, two house foundations, a boat board, a stove, a large number of Song Dynasty porcelain pieces, green bricks and coins of "Xining Yuanbao" were found. It is preliminarily determined that the upper layer of the wharf site was in the Northern Song Dynasty.

"The Bank of Bianhe River still retains the complete form of its last use, which is helpful to truly understand the bank form, use stages, river changes, dredging history and other information of Tongji canal (Bianhe River) section from Sui and Tang Dynasties to Northern Song Dynasty." Liu Haiwang said.

Cultural relics unearthed from the dock site

Some mysteries to be solved were also found in archaeology. For example, a large celadon pot was cleared from the earlier Rammed Soil on the river bank. It was well preserved, with a height and maximum abdominal diameter of 60 cm, and a black glazed porcelain plate was covered on the top of the pot. Experts believe that the two objects are obviously intended to be buried in rammed earth, and its significance needs further study. In addition, the first discovery of the riverbank in the wharf area of "Heshi" provides a new archaeological material through scientific excavation to understand its construction method, reinforcement method, heightening process, material selection, road distribution and functional zoning of riverbank wharf, which can be confirmed by abundant historical documents of Bianhe river.

The discovery of Nanguan wharf site in Shangqiu of the Grand Canal is an important achievement of the Grand Canal Archaeology in Henan Province. It has a high historical, scientific and artistic value for the study of the shipping history of China from Sui, Tang to Song Dynasties and the declaration of the Grand Canal to the world cultural heritage list.

Successful application for World Heritage

On March 5, 2013, when the seventh batch of "national protection" list was published, the new archaeological discovery was officially named "the site of Shangqiu Nanguan Wharf on the Grand Canal". It can be said that behind the success report from Doha, the capital of Qatar, on June 22 was the hard work of archaeologists in Shangqiu for several years.

Successful application for world heritage is the first step, and the next step is how to better protect the exhibition. Chen Denghua, director of the leading group for the application for world cultural heritage of the Shangqiu section of the Grand Canal, told Dongfang Jinbao that the Shangqiu municipal government has compiled a protection plan, contacted experts from Tsinghua University and Tongji University to do careful design, and prepared to apply for the National Archaeological Site Park. "After the plan is approved, it will be fully promoted."

It is understood that the next work of Shangqiu canal site will focus on the completion of archaeological exploration and key excavation within the scope of protection, and the completion of comprehensive renovation, so as to initially build an effective protected and fully displayed dock archaeological site park.

Shangqiu Nanguan section of Tongji canal and Shangqiu Xiayi section of Tongji canal have been included in the World Heritage Application of China Grand Canal, and Shangqiu ancient city has been listed as a follow-up project.

In the future, Shangqiu will fully reveal the relationship between the dock site section and the ancient city of Shangqiu, and build an archaeological Park of Shangqiu Nanguan site, including the ancient city of Shangqiu, fire culture scenic area, business culture scenic area, Yingtian academy, etc.

Yue Aiyun, vice mayor of Shangqiu City, once said that the success of China's Grand Canal "World Heritage Application" will play a positive role in promoting the rapid economic development of Shangqiu, especially the rapid development of tourism.

Address: Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province

Longitude: 115.613548

Latitude: 34.366624

Chinese PinYin : Da Yun He Shang Qiu Nan Guan Ma Tou Yi Zhi