BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Capital Museum is displaying 169 collections of national treasures from cultural sites and museums around the nation, to complement the Olympics and Paralympics.
Here are some facts about some major cultural sites in China.
SANXINGDUI: Located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, the site was named after three mounds in the area. The total area covers 12 sq km with a city of 4 sq km in the center.
Sanxingdui culture existed contemporaneously with the ancient Shu Kingdom during the early and late Shang Dyansty (1600-1046 BC).
The relics were accidentally discovered in 1929 by a farmer who was digging a well, but the whole site did not yield its mysteries until 1986 when two major sacrificial pits were unearthed with more than 1,000 gold, bronze and jade artifacts.
This ancient culture had remarkably advanced bronze-casting technology, which was achieved by adding lead to the usual combination of copper and tin.
The most amazing objects were large bronze masks and bronze heads with angular human features and exaggerated oblique eyes, some with protruding eye pupils and large upper ears.
Other prominent finds were animals, mainly birds, dragons, snakes and tigers, all of which have long been identified as the four quadrants of the sky by Chinese culture.
MAWANGDUI: The site consists of three tombs dating back some 2,100 years to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD). It is situated in the eastern suburbs of Chansha, capital of central Hunan Province. The Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs were uncovered in 1972.
The tombs contained the remains of the Marquis of Dai, or Li Cang, his wife and son, and their most cherished possessions. More than 3,000 relics were unearthed, and they are all in good shape.
Lady Dai's tomb was best preserved among the three. Her mummified body was bound tightly in layers of silk and covered with a painted T-shaped tapestry depicting the afterlife, Earth and heavens with Chinese mythological characters.
Artifacts in the tomb included lacquered wine-bowls and cosmetic boxes.
The tomb of the Marquis of Dai was plundered several times by grave robbers. The son's tomb includes three maps drawn on silk: a topographic map, a military map and a prefecture map, reflecting the political boundaries of the time.
MOGAO GROTTOES: Known as "Thousand Buddha Cave," the site is a temple complex located in Dunhuang City, northwest Gansu Province. Legend has it that a monk named Yue Seng chiseled the first cave in 366 AD.
The city was first made a prefecture in 117 BC by Emperor Han Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) and was a major historic junction of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads.
For centuries, Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the West and pilgrims traveling along the famous silk road to the West painted murals inside the Mogao Caves to form the famous grottoes.
Today, 735 grottoes still stand, of which 492 contain murals and colorful statues.
A few Christian artifacts have also been found in the caves, indicating the wide variety of people who made their way along the silk road.
TERRACOTTA WARRIORS AND HORSES:The site dates back to 210 BC. It was discovered in 1974 by local farmers near the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (221-220 BC), east of Lintong County in northwest Shaanxi Province.
The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with Emperor Qin to help him rule another empire in the afterlife.
The terracotta figures are life-like and life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank, the tallest being the generals.
The colored lacquer finish, individual facial features, and replica weapons and armor used in creating these figures gives a realistic appearance.
It's estimated that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army have more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried.
