The fresco found on the walls of a tomb at an old residential yard in Dongping county, southwestern Shandong Tuesday.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    JINAN, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese heritage workers said Tuesday they have discovered well-preserved frescos in a tomb dating back to about 2,000 years ago in east China's Shandong province.

    The frescos painted with blue, green, black and red colors were found on the walls of a tomb at an old residential yard in Dongping county, southwestern Shandong, when a real estate company was excavating the foundation for a planned shopping mall.

    The paintings included images of drinking, dancing, cock fighting, women servants and historical stories, said Yang Hao, deputy director of Dongping Cultural Heritage Administration Bureau.

    Yang said the frescos were the best preserved ones discovered in the region so far and would be valuable in the study of funeral and folk customs and painting arts during the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-25 A.D.).

    One of the paintings showed a meeting between the two famous Chinese philosophers Laozi (about 600 B.C.-500 B.C.) and Confucius(551 B.C.-479 B.C.). Wang said the painting was valuable to scholars because they had long argued about the real appearance of Confucius, who is reputed by some to have ugly.