Featured Activities and Events
The Yangshao Culture Project Capstone Conference, 11-13 December 2024
In December, as its final output the project hosted the Yangshao Culture Project Conference, “Yangshao in the Past and Present”. Featuring 30 invited speakers from the UK, China, Europe, Canada, USA and UNESCO, the conference presented two full-day sessions on Yangshao Archaeology and Yangshao Cultural Heritage research, plus an afternoon of Keynote speakers and a workshop, to over 100 delegates. It was a rich event, proving fruitful for the exchanging and growth of ideas, and planting seeds for future collaborations, including planning for a new International Journal of Yangshao Studies.
| Photos of speakers and delegates at the Yangshao Culture Project Conference (Photo credit: Hongyun Li) | |
Opening of the ‘Painted Pottery Road’ Exhibition of the Yangshao Culture at Downing College Library, 22 October 2019
On 22 October, Dr Guohua Yang hosted the Opening of the ‘Painted Pottery Road’ Exhibition of the Yangshao Culture at Downing College Library, University of Cambridge. The distinguished guests attending the opening of the exhibition were: Prof Marie Louise Stig Sørensen, who was then also Director of Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, Mr Yu Peng, Minister Counsellor of Cultural Office, Chinese Embassy in the UK; Tina D’Angelico, Head Porter, Downing College; Prof Martin Jones, Senior Fellow of McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Department of Archaeology; ZHANG Baojin, Vice Director of Press Office of Henan Provincial People’s Government; LI Yuzhong, Division Chief of Press Office of Henan Provincial People’s Government; Mr REN Zhanzhou, Director of Sanmenxia Cultural Relics Bureau; Mrs SHI Xianwei, Vice Mayor of Mianchi County People’s Government and David Mahony, Deputy Head Porter, Downing College. Guests gave speeches, and cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for the exhibition.
 Poster for the ‘Painted Pottery Road’ Exhibition of the Yangshao Culture at Downing College. |
 Ribbon cutting ceremony at the opening of the exhibition (Photo source:Yangshao Culture Museum, Mianchi County, Henan Province). |
 Guests examining copies of Yangshao artefacts presented in the exhibition (Photo source: Yangshao Culture Museum, Mianchi County, Henan Province). |
Presentation at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom, 10 April 2019
Dr Guohua Yang presented ‘The Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact’ to the Education Section in the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in London on 10 April 2019.
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China Centre Intellectual Forum: Fellows’ China Day in Jesus College, 29 November 2018
Prof Sørensen presented the project in a paper, ‘The Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact’, at the Fellows’ China Day to the China Centre in Jesus College, University of Cambridge.
 Prof Sørensen speaking with the late Prof Lord Colin Renfrew (Member of the Yangshao Project’s advisory board) at the Fellow’s China Day in Jesus College. |
Fieldwork and Research Visits
Field visit 2024 (17 Oct. – 2nd Nov.)
The PI Prof Sørensen and Co-PI Dr Yang visited China with the aim of seeing additional sites and collecting material for their forthcoming volume on the Yangshao Period. Dr Magdolna Vicze, from the Hungarian National Museum and the co-director with Prof Sørensen of the Százhalombatta excavation, joined the team for the first eight days to begin a comparison between the loess-based archaeology in central China and Central Europe.
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Dr Vicze, Prof Sørensen, and Dr Yang at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. |
The view from one of the reconstructed Yangshao houses in Xipo. (Photo credit: Prof Sørensen) |
Project Field visit 2023 (15 Sept. – 10 Oct.)
In addition to the PI Prof Sørensen and Co-PI Dr Yang, Dr Evans, Dr Janik, and Dr Kaner were part of a project trip to China during which they presented the project at several prestigious forums and visited museums and important archaeological and heritage sites related to the Yangshao Culture.
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Project members visiting the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum, 25 September 2025. |
Visiting the Ordos Archaeological Museum, 6 October 2023. |
Shiting Lin Fieldwork
Shiting Lin conducted fieldwork for her doctoral research between April and July 2023 in Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces, where she carried out interviews and participant observation at museums and companies related to the promotion of the Yangshao Culture and its use for commercial purposes. This included interviews with business owners and managers, workers and local residents. She also collected records of the products of the businesses, museums, and governmental promotion of the Yangshao culture.
Junting Lyu Fieldwork
Junting Lyu conducted fieldwork for her doctoral research between March and August 2023 in Henan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Qinghai Provinces where she carried out visits to museums and archaeological sites parks and was able to conduct interviews with curators and archaeologists, site designers, and with government officials regarding the construction of the archaeological site parks and site museums and their conservation and management.
Guohua Yang Fieldwork
Guohua Yang conducted fieldwork in China between 2021 and 2024, during which he gathered data and conducted research across multiple provinces, including Beijing, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Liaoning. His work involved photographing sites, visiting museums and archaeological locations, and collecting data related to the Yangshao Culture. Additionally, he worked to secure various permissions from national and local governments, as well as institutions, to facilitate visits by project members and ensure the availability of necessary resources and support for the project’s research.
Rouran Zhang Fieldwork
Rouran Zhang conducted an extended period of fieldwork in China from January 2023 to August 2023 during which time he conducted fieldwork and gathered date in Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces, taking photographs using mobile phone cameras and drones and interviewing residents, government officials and academic and expert professionals. Interviews with government officials show some striking contrasts in attitudes between some provinces towards the Yangshao Culture and differences in prioritisation and focus of excavation and preservation activities. A substantial database of interviews has now been collected for this strand of the project research and Dr Zhang has completed the transcription of these interviews and used them for analysis.
Where are they now? Career developments for researchers
Prof Marie Louise Stig Sørensen is enjoying her time in retirement by continuing research on the Yangshao Culture and other projects including the Százhalombatta Archaeological Expedition, the Als Archaeological Project, and excavations at Cabo Verde.
Dr Guohua Yang was appointed Editor in Chief of the International Journal Yangshao Studies in 2024, and Director of the Heritage International Foundation. He continues to research on the Yangshao Period and is working on a new project: “Technological processes and social organisation of early northern China”.
Dr Rouran Zhang left the project to take up a very prestigious position as a programme coordinator at UNESCO. He has subsequently been awarded a Tenured professorship at Shenzhen University.
Shiting Lin successfully defended her PhD dissertation on the 17th of May 2025, and has now started to look for post-doctoral opportunities to advance her research further. She is preparing her PhD for publication.
Junting Lyu will submit her PhD thesis by October 2025.
Ben Davenport was successful in getting a PhD award from the University of York, and is conducting PhD research work on heritage and food.
Dr Joanna Lawrence, having completed her PhD in archaeology, continues to work in the role of Project Coordinator in the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
Project Publications
See the full list of publications from the project here.
All Dissemination Activities
Lila Janik
Several presentations during the 2023 project fieldtrip to China
Shiting Lin
2023, 19th Jan. presented a poster at the CHRC Heritage Fair in Cambridge.
2023, 24th March. Online lecture on ‘Heritage Studies in UK and China: Based on the Experience in Cambridge’ to undergraduates and postgraduates in the School of Tourism of the Sun Yat-sen University, China .
2023, 10th April. Online lecture on ‘The Comparison of Management, Landscape Architecture, and Heritage’ to the undergraduates of the School of Urban Design of the Wuhan University, China,
Junting Lyu
2023, 29 Aug -2nd Sept. co-organised a session on “Stories for Sale: the narratives of heritage in mass consumption” at the 29th meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Belfast, Ireland.
2023, 29 Aug -2nd Sept. presented a paper on “Intangible Heritage and Historical Narratives in Hanfu: the case of Hanfu tourist service in the Datang Everbright City of Xi’an”, EAA Belfast.
Marie Louise Stig Sørensen
2023. Several presentations during the project fieldtrip to China.
2024, Oct, "Why does Cultural Heritage have Value" Beifang schools in Beijing,
2024, Oct. Presented paper "Reflecting on the challenges of “High Resolution Archaeology” - interpretation and dissemination. Liren Xuetang seminars in Shanxi Archaeological Museum organised by Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology in Taiyuan on 23th October.
2024, Dec.Presented paper "The Yangshao 'Culture' Past & Present – an outsider View". At the Yangshao Conference, Cambridge.
Guohua Yang
Yang, G. 2024. Presented paper “The Early Exhibitions of Yangshao Objects and Materials”. At the Yangshao Conference, Jesus College, Cambridge on 13th December.
Yang, G. 2024. Presented paper “Neolithic Yangshao Symbols Studies”, Liren Xuetang seminars in Shanxi Archaeological Museum organised by Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology in Taiyuan on 23th October.
Yang, G. 2024. Gave a Presentation on “Yangshao Period Symbols Studies”, International conference in Zhengzhou University (online) on 8th July.
Yang, G. 2023. Organised and hosted a course on “Multiple and Interdisciplinary Studies” at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 4th-5th November.
Yang, G. 2023. Gave a Presentation on the Cambridge University project “Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact” at the Inner Mongolia Hetao Cultural Museum, Inner Mongolia on 21st October.
Yang, G. 2023. Gave a Presentation on “Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact” at the Management College, Xi’an Jiaotong University on 18th October.
Yang, G. 2023. Gave a Presentation on “Cambridge University Yangshao Project Aims and Motivation” on a Salon of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Inheritance organized by the NPU Institute of Culture and Heritage, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xixian New District Academy together with Cambridge University Yangshao Project Team in Xi’an on the 28th September.
Yang, G. 2023. Gave a Presentation “Cambridge University Project Aims and Motivation-- Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact” on an international conference of Cultural exchange at the History College, Zhengzhou University on 21st September.
Yang, G. 2023. Co-organised and hosted an international conference of Cultural exchange together with Henan Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage at the History College, Zhengzhou University on 21st September.
Yang, G. 2023. Co-organised and hosted an international conference of Cultural exchange together with School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University on 19th September.
Yang, G. 2023. Participated in an International Conference of World Rivers Civilisation organised by Chinese Congress of Archaeology and Henan Provincial Government in Zhengzhou on 16-18th September.
2023, 1 July to 26 August, a series of lectures on Chinese Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the Cambridge Centre for International Research.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Archaeology of Ancient China in Context I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 1st July.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Heritage Studies and World Heritage in China I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 8th July.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘A History of Chinese Archaeology I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 15th July.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘A History of Chinese Museum I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 22nd July.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Neolithic Age: Jiahu Culture I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 29th July.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Neolithic Age: Yangshao Culture I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 5th August.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Bronze Age: Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 12th August.
Yang, G. 2023. Delivered a lecture series entitled ‘Research Methodology I and II’ as part of the course “Archaeology and Heritage of Ancient China 2023”, organized by the Cambridge Centre for International Research, on 19th August.
Yang, G. 2022. Gave a paper Presentation of “The development and evolution of architecture during Yangshao Culture Period in the Yellow River Basin” at the Peking University - University of Cambridge Seminar on Human-Land Relations of Early River Valley Civilisations (online), 29th November.
Yang, G. 2022. Participated in the First Yangshao Forum, organised and hosted by Society for Chinese Archaeology, IA of CASS, Henan Academy of Social Sciences, Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, and Sanmenxia Municipal People’s Government held in Sanmenxia City, 27th November.
Yang, G. 2022. Participated in the 7th Cultural Heritage Interdisciplinary Advanced Forum and Cultural Relics Conservation Technological Equipment Exhibition, and the 10th NPU Institute of Culture and Heritage Aoxiang Forum for Distinguished Young Scholars at
Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, 12th November.
Yang, G. 2022. Gave a paper Presentation of “From Museum to National Archaeological Park: A history of Chinese Museums focused on the exhibition of the Yangshao Culture” at Oxford University Conference on the History and Practice of Archaeology in Chinese Cultural Sphere, 23rd August.
Yang, G. 2021. Gave a paper Presentation of “Yangshao Culture and Yellow River Civilisation” at Luoyang Forum in Luoyang City, 24th October.
Yang, G. 2021. Gave a paper Presentation of “Yangshao Culture and World Heritage” to the First International Forum of the Yangshao Culture in Mianchi, 20th October.
Yang, G. 2021. Co-organised and hosted the “First International Forum of the Yangshao Culture” with Yangshao Research Centre of CASS, Beijing Capital Normal University in Mianchi, 20th October.
Yang, G. 2021. Gave a paper Presentation of “The Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact” at the Architecture College, Taiyuan University of Technology, 14th August.
Yang, G. 2019. Presented the project“Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact”to the Education Section in the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in London on 10 April.
Yang, G. and B. Davenport. 2018. Project poster presentation “The Yangshao Culture: 100 Year Research History and Heritage Impact” produced for the CHRC Heritage fair at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge in October.
Rouran Zhang
2023, 13th Jan. Presented a paper titled ‘Chinese Heritage Sites and Their Audiences’ at the International Symposium on World Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development, in Beijing & Online.
2023,16th April, presented a paper titled ‘China's experience of cultural and natural heritage conservation in the face of climate change’ at the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture Annual Conference in Changsha, China
2023, 24th May, presented a paper titled ‘Chinese Heritage Sites and Their Audiences’ at the Eurasian Archaeology Seminar Series at the University of Oxford.
2023, 17th November, as a keynote speaker presented a paper titled ‘China's World Heritage under the Fusion of Culture and Nature’ at the Symposium on Cultural and Natural Heritage at the Peking University.
2023. Gave a paper titled ‘Chinese public discourse on heritage: integrating culture and nature’ at the ICOMOS GA2023 Scientific Symposium in Sydney on 5 September 2023.
2023. Paper titled ‘Construction of Discourse of the Maritime Silk Road from the Perspective of the Public’ at the ICOMOS GA2023 Scientific Symposium in Sydney on 6 September 2023.
2023. Paper titled ‘Official VS Public How the Discourse of Archaeological Sites is Constructed’ at the ICOMOS GA2023 Scientific Symposium in Sydney on 7 September 2023.
