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exhibits at the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial MuseumThe Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum is located inside the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site. The museum was opened at the site in order to educate its visitors about the importance of Lantian Man in the human evolutionary chain, a humanoid ancestor of ours that is unfortunately barely known outside of the archeological community. The remains of Lantian Man were discovered in the 1960s, so almost half a century after the discovery of the world-famous Peking Man fossils near Beijing. However, the Lantian Man fossils are much older than those of Peking Man. Both Homo erectus types taught humanity a lot about the way these hominids lived in the area that is now China during prehistoric times.

Just like Peking Man has been so named due to the geographical proximity of the Peking Man Site to Beijing, Lantian Man was named after the geographical location of Lantian County which lies about 50km to the east of the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province. There, human fossils that have been dated to the early paleolithic age were discovered during excavations at the Chenjiawo Site and the Gongwangling Site. In fact, the Chenjiawo Site and the Gongwangling Site are located only about 10km away from each other (see the spots marked CJW and GWL on this map). That's why they are often classified together as the Lantian Man Site(s) in scientific papers. The Lantian Yuanren Relic Site that is marked on maps (like in the Google map further below on this page) is the official name of the tourism site that was opened to the public at the location of the prehistoric Gongwangling Site. Its main attraction is the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum which can currently still be visited for free.

humanoid lower jaw (mandible) of Lantian Man that was unearthed at the Chenjiawo Site in 1963However, the number of tourists that annually find their way to this remote spot in the countryside near Gongwang village is still quite low. Most of the few visitors that make it here each day do so on a day trip from Xi'an. However, the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site can also be conveniently reached by car on a day trip from Huayin. That small city is located north of Lantian County and a bit further to the east of Xi'an. Many tourists stay in Huayin for a few days to explore Mount Hua and Huashan National Park. Another prehistoric site of paramount importance, the Xihoudu Site in Ruicheng County (Shanxi province), can also be reached by car within an hour from Huayin.

So what were the human fossils that were discovered at the Chenjiawo Site and the Gongwangling Site? At the Chenjiawo Site, the single humanoid fossil that was unearthed during excavations in September 1963 was the mandible of an older female. It is believed to be somewhere between 500,000 and 650,000 years old. In the scientific community, this single lower jaw that was found is sometimes also referred to as Chenjiawo man.

The only other Lantian Man fossils that were ever discovered are a cranium, nasal bones, a right maxilla and three molars. These were all discovered at the Gongwangling Site in May 1964 and are believed to have belonged to a middle-aged female. According to fairly recent retesting of these remains, the cranium is now believed to be somewhere between 1.62 and 1.63 million years old. That makes it the oldest human fossil that was ever found in the northern part of Asia. As a subspecies of Homo erectus, Gongwangling Man that lived in this part of Asia such an eternity ago was able to make and use rough stone tools. About 200 such stone artifacts were found at the Gongwangling Site as well. Ash that was found at the site also indicates that these humanoid ancestors of ours were able to use fire. Nevertheless, the small brain volume of the Gongwangling skull of only 780ml shows that these archaic humans were still quite primitive.

reproduction of the cranium that was unearthed at the Gongwangling Site in 1964Public exhibition of some of the discovered human and animal fossils as well as stone artifacts already began at the Gongwangling Site in 1979. Back then, it was mostly scholars who came for a visit. The number of visiting tourists has since then increased though, especially since the opening of the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum in July 2012. The site occupies a fairly small area of only 13,058 square meters though and a visit typically takes about an hour. There are four different areas to visit, an Indoor Exhibition Area, a Garden Leisure Area and two exhibition areas for the Gongwangling Site and the Chenjiawo Site. In the Garden Leisure Area, visitors will come across a hexagonal stele pavilion in the style of traditional Chinese architecture. The large stele that stands in the middle of this pavilion is crowned by a modern bust that attempts to recreate Lantian Man's appearance.

Altogether, there are only about 200 exhibits on display at the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum. Besides the human fossils, these include about 30 animal fossils from such animals as giant pandas, wild boars and saber-toothed tigers. The exhibited stone tools that Lantian Man once used are comprised of scrapers, choppers, pointed objects, stone chips and stone balls. Lantian Man once used the various displayed choppers of different sizes as tools for cutting and smashing things. Scrapers were used to strip animal skins and to scrape wooden sticks and their blades come in different forms.

In 2018, another archeological site in Lantian County made headlines due to the discovery of ancient stone tools in sediment layers that date as far back as 2.12 million years. This new site is located just about three miles to the north of the Gongwangling Site and it is now known as the Shangchen Site. Along with the Heitugou Site in the Nihewan Basin, it is a prime candidate for eventually yielding human fossils that are older than the 1.63 to 1.64-million-years-old teeth that were found at the Yuanmou Man Site in the south of China and perhaps even older than the 1.81-million-years-old skeletal remains that were discovered at Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia.

Visitors that are planning to stay in Xi'an for a few more days after their visit of the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum might be interested to visit some of the other important historic sights the city has the offer. Whereas almost everyone has at least heard of the Terracotta Warriors, the other sights of and near Xi'an that are featured on this website such as the Banpo Museum, Huaqing Hot Springs and Famen Temple also merit a place on the travel itinerary of every history buff that is coming to this historic city at the center of China.

mosaic image that shows some of the sights of the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site

How to get to the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum?

On the following Google map, you can see the location of the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site (the blue icon). The Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum is the relic site's main attraction. When you zoom out of the map, the yellow hotel bed icons show the location of the Time Tunnel Designer Hotel, Angsana Xi'an Lintong Hotel, Wyndham Grand Xian Residence, Fairfield by Marriott Xi'an North Station and Sheraton Xi'an Hotel. The services and amenities of all these hotels are reviewed further down on this page. In case you are planning a trip to China, you could support this website by using the provided affiliate links to check prices and book your hotel accommodation!

You can book hotels in China with both of our affiliate partners Agoda and Trip.com. No matter whether you choose Agoda or Trip.com, you will find many offers on each of these platforms that will allow you to make a risk-free booking with the possibility of free cancellation until a clearly stated date and time, sometimes as late as the intended date of arrival. However, some deals require prepayment and don't permit cancellation without fees. In that case, the incurred cancellation fees are clearly stated.

When following an Agoda link, the search results will show you prices, availability and special offers for your chosen dates with the recommended hotel in the top search position as well as for other hotels in the same area. Links to Trip.com will take you to the specific hotel webpage where you can then search for availability, prices and special deals with your chosen dates.

The provided information was thoroughly researched from various hotel booking websites. Chinese History Digest is not responsible if any information regarding the provided services and amenities might have changed.

Recommended Hotel near the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site

The Time Tunnel Designer Hotel and the Angsana Xi'an Lintong Hotel which are reviewed below respectively are the closest 4 and 5-star hotels to the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site. From the latter, it takes a bit more than an hour to drive on the highway to the Lantian Yuanren Site Memorial Museum in Lantian County.

Other Recommended Hotels in Xi'an

The following recommended hotels at the center of Xi'an are just a few miles farther away from the Lantian Yuanren Relic Site. Of the three hotels that are reviewed below, the 5-star Wyndham Grand Xian Residence is located only 470 meters away from the Tang Paradise Theme Park. The Fairfield by Marriott Xi'an North Station and the Sheraton Xi'an Hotel respectively are the closest up-scale hotels to the Xi'an North Railway Station and the Xi'an West Bus Station.