Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian

Location: Fangshanxian County, Beijing Municipality

Date of Inscription: 1987

Criteria: C (iii) (vi)

Scientific work at the site, which lies 42 km south-west of Beijing, is still underway. So far, it has led to the discovery of the remains of Sinanthropus pekinensis, who lived in the Middle Pleistocene, along with various objects, and remains of Homo sapiens sapiens dating as far back as 18,000¨C11,000 B.C. The site is not only an exceptional reminder of the prehistorical human societies of the Asian continent, but also illustrates the process of evolution.

Round-topped Dragon Bone Hill lies northwest of Zhoukoudian, a town in suburban Beijing. In the past, people used to Quarry limestone on the hill, and they often came across animal fossils that they used as a medicine called Dragon Bone. Thus the hill was named Dragon Bone Hill. At that time, however, nobody knew that the hill was once the home of Peking (Beijing) Man (Homo erectus pekinensis), the ancestor of the Chinese people.