Finding a lost city

Was Taosi the source of Chinese civilization? An excavation report poses the question with ample text and photos, Wang Kaihao reports in Linfen, Shanxi province.

The remains of what could be the birthplace of the Chinese civilization - pending further archaeological studies - were unearthed to an extent in North China earlier this year after a three-decade excavation. And the first part of a report covering the excavation activities from 1978 to 1985 was released on Saturday.

Spread across 2.8 square kilometers, in Shanxi province's Linfen city, the relics of Taosi, thought to be 4,300 years old, are presented in words and more than 500 photos in the voluminous report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the top government think-tank of its kind.