Shanghai Daily, 19 December 2006 -- Fifty years of excavation work on the ancient city of Chang’an, situated in the northwestern part of Xi’an, have now passed and archaeologists have been able to clearly map the layout of the former capital of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).

 

But there is still much work to be done. Experts, such as Liu Qingzhu, a veteran archeologist with the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), insist that only one thousandth of the total ruins has been unearthed.

 

“Like the ancient site of Pompeii, the study of large-scale ruins requires about 100 or 200 years of excavation,” Liu said.

 

The Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD) was one of the most prosperous periods in ancient China and lasted for about 200 years. Its capital Chang’an, today’s Xi’an, once rivaled Rome as the largest metropolis in the world.

 

Although no discernible structures have been found, archeologists have been able to identify the sites of the former palaces from the different soil types. Perhaps the most significant discoveries have been of passages underneath the palace ruins, which are thought to signify political power struggles that occurred within the imperial house.

 

“The underground passages are the first of their kind ever to be discovered in the ruins of an ancient Chinese capital,” said Liu.

 

“The tunnels were mostly discovered under the palaces where the royal women lived, including the emperor’s mother, the empress and the emperor’s concubines,” said Liu.

 

Historical records show the emperors in the Western Han Dynasty relied partly on the families of the imperial females to consolidate their rule.

 

“The emperors had many concubines, some of whom were chosen for political reasons to consolidate royal power through their families,” Liu said. “The political groups might have used the tunnels to meet secretly in various palaces in the capital.

 

“The underground passages are very intricate. Some had gatekeepers to control who went in and who went out.”

 

The ruins of nearly 20 underground passages have been discovered and some stretch for about 20 meters, according to Zhang Jianfeng, an archeologist with the Chinese Institute of Archeology in the CASS.

 

Numerous basements under the palaces have also been found.

 

“Some small basements with thick pillars might have been used to keep ground humidity away from the upper constructions, some middle-sized ones less than two meters high might have been used as warehouses and some large ones of about 50 square meters might have been used as residences or offices,” said Zhang. “But we still need further evidence to prove these theories.”

 

The main building of Weiyang Palace, where the emperor resided, was far larger than the 0.72-square-kilometer Forbidden City covering, about five square kilometers, the largest of the ancient Chinese palaces.

 

Standing before the ruins, it looks like nothing more than a man-made earth hill. However, archeologists have picked up vital clues from studying the nuances of the ruins’ height, the color of the earth and its layers.

 

“Judging by the height of the packed earth and the size of the stones used to support the pillars, there must have been a marvelous construction here,” says Shi Xingbang, president of the Shaanxi Society of Archeology.

 

Another unique construction to the east of the central palace is a weapons warehouse, also the military headquarters of the empire.

 

“This is the first weapon warehouse ever discovered in an ancient capital, though many historical records have hinted at such a building,” says Liu. Iron swords, bows, arrows and armor were found littered around the ruins.

 

Another construction thought to have performed the same function as a modern-day refrigeration unit was also found.

 

“The walls were about six meters thick to ensure temperature isolation,” says Liu Zhendong, another archeologist in charge of the excavation, “The room is about 27 meters long and seven meters wide.”

 

The capital is divided into 11 districts with 12 gates and eight roads each 45 meters wide. The districts include a palace area, a residential area for senior officials, a civilian residential area, a business area and an industrial area.

 

About 240,000 people were estimated to have lived in the capital. The population might have been 1.2 million if the satellite towns were included.

 

The northern line of the ancient capital looks like the Big Dipper, a unique feature, given Chinese ancient capitals were usually rectangular.

 

Some experts believe the shape was adopted deliberately in line with astrological beliefs.

 

In 2005, China pledged to set aside 250 million yuan (US$31 million) to protect large-scale ruins across the country, including the ancient capitals. However, parts of the Han capital of Chang’an are still being destroyed near urban areas as economic development clashes with protection of cultural heritage.

 

Even though the Cultural Relics Protection Bureau has the final say over whether restaurants and offices can be built on protected land, it is often ignored.

 

“Many constructions have been built inside the large-scale ruins area near downtown Xi’an without permission from the cultural protection department. Some high rises have wreaked great havoc on the ruins,” said Liu.