The Xiacaopu Iron Smelting Site in Qingyang, Anxi is located in the mountainous area about 70 kilome[...]
The Xiacaopu Iron Smelting Site in Qingyang, Anxi is located in the mountainous area about 70 kilometers northwest of Quanzhou. Due to its unique location and superior smelting conditions, it was one of the official dedicated iron fields in the Song Dynasty.
The Xiacaopu Iron Smelting Site was discovered in 1966. In 1985, it was announced as a county-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2019, scientific archaeological excavations were carried out by the School of Archaeology and Museology of Peking University. In January 2020, it was announced as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.
The remains found within the site include: stone piles, ponds, smelting furnaces, building foundations, slope protection, small hills, and compacted layers, etc.
The excavation area of the site is located on the hillside of the terraced landscape, with the terrain higher in the east and lower in the west. Currently, the excavation area is approximately 1,800 square meters, and there are 14 terraces ascending step by step.
According to records, some of the iron products produced in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties were sold to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and most were exported overseas through Cizhong Port. Thus, the iron smelting economy and culture were integrated into the world’s maritime civilization during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
The sunken ship Nanhai No.1 departing from Quanzhou Port carried more than 100,000 cultural relics, including a large number of ironware such as iron pots, which testifies to the developed iron smelting handicraft industry in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
The series of iron smelting sites and ceramic production bases in Quanzhou jointly demonstrate the strong industrial and trade export capabilities of Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Opening hours: Open from 08:00 – 12:00 and 14:30 – 17:30 throughout the year; Open from 08:00 – 12:00 and 14:30 – 17:30 on New Year’s Day.
