The Drum and Bell towers were built in 1272 under the rule of Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty. Since that time, the towers have been continually reconstructed and renovated.
The Drum and Bell towers are located in Beijing and functioned as time keeping devices, sounding off the time in the city. The buildings have stopped with their original function, but the towers have become a major tourist attraction for the capital. In January 2010, the Chinese news media announced a plan to redevelop the area that would involve building new shopping areas and a museum at the site.
Pingyao is one of the most well-preserved medieval town in all of China and has become a major tourist destination. The town is notable for its still existing city wall along with the hundreds of buildings that date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the 19th century, the town became a banking capital for the country.
The National Centre for the Peforming Arts or the 国家大剧院 also holds archaeological exhibitions. The most recent has been one centered on China's Three Kingdoms period.
While Qin Shi Huang united China in the 3rd century BC, his family has controlled territory in the country from as far back as the 9th century BC.
Their territory was based on the western frontier of the country and was called Qin. This jade pendant was used by a Duke of Qin, ancestor of the First Emperor, 350 years before Emperor Qin even existed. It will be featured in the exhibit The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army, set to open at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto Canada, in late June.
The rule of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, represented a bit of an aberration in Chinese art. He is the only emperor, in Chinese history, who insisted that life-size terracotta figures be built.
After the emperor’s death Chinese artists went back to creating small-scale figurines of warriors, civilians and animals. Among these figurines is this terracotta representation of a dog, created for the first emperor of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang). Dogs were common in China by this point and were presumably used for either hunting or companionship.
Horses were a mainstay of the army of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. They were used to pull chariots and as mounts for cavalry units. Some of them were fitted with armour to protect them against arrows and melee weapons.
As such when the Terracotta Warriors was created a large number of life-size horses were built to aid them. Like their human counterparts these horses have individual flourishes that distinguish them from each other. War chariots have four horses apiece and horses meant for cavalry units appear to be taller but shorter in length. This particular horse is fitted with a saddle, suggesting that he (or she) is meant to be ridden.
Erlitou is a famous archaeological site located in China's Henan province. Discovered in 1959, the site encompasses a city that was inhabitated from 1900 to 1500 BC. Some archaeologists believe it to be a capital of China's first ruling state, the Xia Dynasty, which lasted from 2070 to 1600 BC. Other archaeologists, however, believe there is not enough evidence to conclude that Erlitou belonged to the early dynasty.
The Erlitou site itself is made up of different villages that contain palaces, workshops and altars for relgious worship. The residents living there already specialized in bronze making, producing weapons and drinking vessels. Jade, pottery and stoneware have also been found at the site. Archaeologists believe that as many as 20,000 could have been living in the city.
Nanhai One ( 南海一号） is a Chinese merchant ship that archaeologists are continuing to excavate artifacts from. The ship was sunk during the Song Dynasty, but later recovered upon its discovery in 1987 off the coast of the southern China. In Chinese, Nanhai means southern sea.
The ship is the largest of its kind to be pulled from Chinese waters, with its weight at 5,000 tons. The vessel is estimated to carry about 60,000 to 80,000 relics. Some of these pieces include porcelain (such as the piece pictured), coins, as well as gold and silver. Work is being done to retrieve the artifacts while also preserving the ship.
Nanhai One is currently placed in the Marine Silk Museum (广东海上丝绸之路博物馆) in Yangjiang City, Guangzhou province. The vessel is being kept in the museum's underwater pool.
Chang'an (which translates as "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese) was an ancient capital of over ten dynasties of ancient China. As a key hub of the Silk Route, from around 1 AD it was one of the leading cities on earth. At its peak, it was one of the largest and most populous cities in the world - by 750 AD, around 800,000-1,000,000 people were estimated to live within its city walls alone.
Linzi was the capital of the Qi people of ancient China from 859 BC to 221 BC. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the biggest and most poweful city in the region - a political, economic and cultural powerhouse. Linzi held out to the end as the State of Qin rose to dominance during the Warring States Period in China. The Qi were the last state of pre-Imperial China to be conquered by the Qin.
