Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian is 48 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing near Longgusha
n (dragon bone mountain). The site occupies an area of 0.24 square kilometers. It is world famous
for its Peking Man fossils as well as its abundant cultural remains which were discovered in the
1920s.
Since the systematic excavation of the Peking Man Site in 1927, more than 20 valuable localities
have been discovered and excavated. Among them, four well-studied localities are as follows: The
Peking Man Cave or Locality 1; Locality 4 or New Cave; Locality 15 and the Upper Cave.
Since 1920, eight sites of ancient human remains have been discovered. 118 kinds of animal
fossils and over 100,000 stone wares have been unearthed. These fossils and remains serve as
evidence of the existence of humanoid species 500,000 years ago in Zhoukoudian.
To protect and conserve the Peking Man Site at
Zhoukoudian well, in 1953, the Peking Man Site Museum was founded and opened to the public,
exhibiting over 3,000 cultural relics. The exhibits are mainly composed of fossils of the Peking Man
and other animal bones, demonstrating the origin of creatures in prehistory and the transition from
ape to human.
The discoveries at Zhoukoudian are of great significance, for the sites date the cultural history of
Beijing back to 600,000 years ago. It is could be considered one of the birthplaces of world
civilization. These cultural relics are very valuable in the study of the origin and evolution of the
human species.
The site of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian was formally inscribed on the "World Heritage List" in
December 1987 at the eleventh session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The inscription of the Peking Man Site on the World Heritage List
confirms the exceptional and universal value of the cultural site which requires protection for the benefit of all humanity. The site is therefore not
only of China, but also of the world as a whole.
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