The Remains of Peking Man in Zhoukoudian

A globally celebrated historic and cultural city, Beijing boasts a history of over 3000 years, 850 of which have been as China's capital.  It is a city rich in cultural relics. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Peking Man Site and the Ming Tombs are listed as World Cultural Heritage Sites.

The Remains of Peking Man in Zhoukoudian

Add: 1 Zhoukoudian Dajie, Fangshan District

Tel: (010) 6930-1287

Open: 8:30am-4:30pm

Admission: 20 yuan

Buses: take 917 at Tianqiao to Fangshan, or take 616 at Beijing West Railway Station to Liangxiang, then change Huan 2 to Zhoukoudian

The remains of Peking Man in Zhoukoudian are located on Dragon Bone Hill near the town of Zhoukoudian, Fanshan District. The place became world famous after the discovery of a human skull on December 2, 1929, which Chinese anthologists called Peking Man. The caves where Peking Man was found were recognized as a World Heritage site by the United Nation in 1987. More discoveries of ancient humans from 6,000-10,000 years ago were made after 1929.

The Peking Man skull is one of the world's most important archaeological discoveries. During the War of Resistance against Japan in the 1930s, the skull mysteriously disappeared. Its whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Peking Man was believed to be one of the earliest primitive men to use fire. Proof lies in the ashes and burnt animal bones found in the cave. These discoveries are solid proof of the existence of Peking Man, a milestone in the history of the study of palaeoanthropology. Unearthed fossil remains in Zhoukoudian include 6 skulls, 15 mandibles, 157 teeth and countless fragmented bones belonging to 40 individual Peking Men, constituting important materials for the study of the early biological evolution of human beings and the development of early culture.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Zhoukoudian became a great tourist attraction.