On the plains of the Yi and Luo River valleys,several kilometers southwest of the county seat of Yanshi (one of the outlying counties of Luoyang),is the former site of a city cailed Xibo that dates back three thousand years to the Shang dynasty.Of the numerous sites of ancient cities that have been discovered in China,this one is not only the oldest but also the best preserved When it was unearthed in 1983,UNESCO listed it as one of the world's seventeen greatest discoveries of the year.
This ancient Shang city,is approximately rectangular in shape.it measures 1200 meters east-west and 1700 meters north-south.The southern wall of the city has been washed away by the Luo River,but the walls on the other three sides are basically intact.All were built with slabs of rammed earth.The remains of these walls average one to two meters high;when discovered,the wall top was a couple of meters below the surface of the earth.So far,seven city gates,a number of crossroads,and three large building complexes have been brougt to light.The largest complex is the one that stands at the center of the southern part of the city.This is a square compound that measures 200 by 200 meters and is protected by awall of rammed earth roughly three meters thick.In the center of this walled compound are the remains of a palatial hall that measures several dozen meters in both length and breadth.A wide and straight path leads directly from the entrance of the hall to the south gate ofthe city.On the east and west sides of the hall are the remains of several smaller buildings.