According to the latest archaeological studies, there were possibly several prehistoric states in China's territory in the late Neolithic Age, the time when the legendary leaders Yao, Shun and Yu lived. The studies showed that the generally acknowledged 5,000-year history of China will hopefully be proved with new scientific evidence.

After 10-year excavation and investigation near Rizhao city in east China's Shangdong province, the joint archaeological team formed with experts from the Archaeological Institute under Shangdong University and the Chicago Natural History Museum in the US held that the site of ancient city found in Rizhao region was the ruin of a historic state dating back to 5,000 years. It is estimated that the population of this prehistoric state stood at 63,000, and its capital city covered an area of more than one million square metres.

"It is generally believed that China has a 5,000-year history and the romance of legendary leaders Yao, Shun and Yu is usually regarded as the beginning of Chinese civilisation. However, the traditional archaeological view held Chinese civilisation started with the Xia Dynasty 3,000 years ago, because the Erlitou site in central China's Henan province could doubtlessly indicate the existence of state at that time," noted Zhu Naicheng, professor with Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS).

By People's Daily Online