Preliminary archeological excavation of the hometowns of Zhou Yu and Liu Bei, famous heroes from the Three Kingdoms period, in Lu'an city has finished. The local government plans to reconstruct Zhou Yu's town while shelving Liu Bei's, according to the Anhui Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics.

Zhou Yu (AD 175–210) was a military general and strategist during the late Han Dynasty. He served the warlord Sun Ce and his younger brother Sun Quan. Liu Bei (AD 161–223) was a general and the founding emperor of Shu Han, a state during the Three Kingdoms period.

With a history of over 1,700 years, Zhou Yu's town is located at Yucheng village, Ganchahe town, Shucheng county. Rich in archaeological resources, it has cultural relics dating from the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC), Han dynasties (206 BC-AD 220), Song Dynasty (AD 420-479) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The relics provide important heritage resources for archaeological research and fresh material for the understanding of Three Kingdoms culture.

Shucheng county's cultural relics bureau announced that preliminary excavation of Zhou Yu's town had finished. The results indicate the area may have been a moat riverbed.

The school located on Zhou Yu's town has been relocated, and over 400 nearby graves have been reburied. Shucheng county plans to reconstruct the town around an area of 60,000 square meters, creating a film base atop the archaeological excavations.

Compared to the lofty plans for Zhou Yu's town, Liu Bei's town has been largely ignored. According to the local cultural relics department, without detailed plans, Liu Bei's town will be kept intact for deeper archaeological survey.

（anhuinews.com）