Page 108 - JCAU-7-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Heritage and development of Tonglushan mine site

The rapid expansion of mining activities also addition, archeologists discovered sophisticated lifting
necessitated the construction of new roads and railways, devices and copper smelting furnaces (Zhou et al., 1988),
linking Tonglushan to the nearby City of Huangshi and the along with more than 1,000 artifacts, such as wooden,
provincial capital, Wuhan. The region was among the first stone, and copper tools, as well as pottery. Radiocarbon
rural areas to implement public services, such as electricity dating indicates that mining at Tonglushan started at least
(introduced in 1994) and tap water in Huangshi City. as early as the late Shang dynasty (1300 – 1046 BCE) and
Although traditional rural houses remained, many continued until the Western Han period (206 BCE – 9 CE)
nearby farmers transitioned to work in self-operated (Huangshi City Museum, 1999).
mineral processing facilities, ore-crushing factories, and The Tonglushan site holds immense historical
smelting plants, with minimal engagement in agriculture. significance as the first scientifically excavated mining and
Improvements in living standards were also evident smelting site in China. It provides evidence of organized
in education and social insurance. For instance (Zhou copper mining and smelting conducted by labor forces
et al., 1996): over 3,000 years ago, as well as the advanced mining
• Copper Village and Rock Village were pioneers in and smelting techniques employed by skilled individual
Huangshi City in providing free primary education, craftsworkers. These discoveries offer important historical
and information relating to some of the most central aspects
• Copper Village introduced a retirement and medical of China’s Bronze Age civilization. Scholars have described
insurance system as early as 1982. the site’s discovery as having “opened up a new field of
Chinese bronzeware research and a new field of Chinese
Since 2008, changes in both domestic and international
economic conditions have contributed to a gradual decline archeological research” (Xia & Yin, 1982, p. 1), marking
the foundation of archeometallurgy in China.
in the Tonglushan area. The workforce in state-owned
mines has decreased to one-quarter of its former level, 3.2. Preserving ancient mining remains in modern
and nearby township-owned, village-operated, and private mines
factories have ceased operations. With the implementation From the 1950s to the 1980s, China prioritized the
of new environmental policies, many former farmers who development of heavy industry, accumulating capital
lost their land have either resumed small-scale agricultural by maintaining price scissors between industrial and
activities or sought alternative sources of income.
agricultural product prices, imposing high taxes on rural
3. The Tonglushan archeological site in areas, and enforcing separate household registration
modern mining areas systems for urban and rural residents (Zhao, 2010). The
Tonglushan Copper Mine Company recognized as a high-
3.1. The Tonglushan ancient copper mine site quality state-owned mine, played a critical role in national

During the initial phase of mine construction, workers industrial production.
discovered ancient mine shafts with exposed timber Preserving the Tonglushan ancient copper mine site
supports. Nevertheless, it was not until 1971, when a mine as proof of China’s ancient copper mining achievements
manager sent two large copper axes – unearthed during was relatively uncontroversial during the 1970s. A joint
production – to the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, expert committee recognized that: “Its discovery further
that subsequent archeological excavation efforts were proves the splendor of Chinese Bronze Age civilization,
brought in (Fan & Kong, 1993). provides invaluable scientific data on the history of copper
The Tonglushan ancient copper mine site has mining and smelting, and conclusively demonstrates that
undergone two major phases of excavation: the first Chinese Bronze Age civilization developed independently,
between 1974 and 1985, and the second between 2012 and countering the theory of foreign origins” (Guo, 1981, p. 65).
2019. Archeologists discovered ancient shaft structures At least two joint negotiations held in 1979 and 1981
across 10 ore bodies designated by the Tonglushan Mine focused on which archeological remains of Tonglushan –
Company. Excavations revealed seven open-pit mines and Ore Body No. 11 or Ore Body No. 7 – should be preserved.
18 well-preserved underground mining areas.
In 1982, the State Council officially designated the site
The findings (Figure 2) included a complex system of of Ore Body No. 7 as a national key cultural relic protection
underground mining facilities, comprising vertical shafts, unit. Subsequently, in 1984, the Tonglushan Ancient
horizontal tunnels, and inclined shafts, all supported Copper Mine Site Museum was established to oversee the
by timber structures. These facilities also incorporated archeological remains. This museum became China’s third
drainage mechanisms and ventilation solutions. In archeological site museum, following the Banpo Site and

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4898