China torch relay: Anyang

By Michael Bristow BBC News

The discoveries were a treasure-trove for archaeologists (Image: Unesco)

Like many other cities in China, Anyang is striving to become modern, open and developed - a perfect place to live and invest.

On the local government website, officials give a clear picture of how they see their city of more than one million inhabitants.

A new high-tech park has been built to attract investment, a base from which officials hope the city will be able to "blaze new trails".

But even if current city leaders have their eyes firmly fixed on the future, many people believe Anyang's past is far more interesting.

The city, situated in northern Henan province, is the site of one of China's earliest civilised settlements.

Palaces and tombs

It was the capital of the Shang Dynasty from the 14th Century BC and is one of China's great, ancient capitals.

CHINA RELAY CITIES IN FOCUS Use the map to see the full Olympic torch relay route or read about some of the key cities: Full route map, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Jinggangshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Huangshan, Three Gorges, Kaili, Lhasa, Urumqi, Xian, Yanji, Qufu, Anyang, Beijing.

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of royal palaces and tombs, and unearthed tens of thousands of bronze, stone and pottery objects.

Excavation has been going on since the end of the 19th Century, but began in earnest in 1928 under the former Nationalist government.

Further work in the city, formerly known as Yin, has also been carried out in the last 30 years by the Communist government.

Hundreds of artefacts continue to be dug up.

Undoubtedly, the greatest find made in Anyang has been the oracle bones.

These bones, made from tortoise shell or animal bones, had characters written on them and were made for royal divination ceremonies.

Many finds date back to the Shang Dynasty (Image: Unesco)

A hot iron was placed on the bones, which then cracked. Meaning would be sought from the way they broke up.

The results of these ceremonies were inscribed on the bones, leaving a written record of the life of early Chinese civilisation.

Through these inscriptions, we now have an idea about the political, economic and social life of China in the Shang Dynasty.

Scholars only realised the significance of these bones about 100 years ago.

For centuries, they are thought to have been ground up as "dragon bones" and used as a traditional Chinese medicine.

Now, their discovery is one of the reasons Anyang is a tourist attraction.

Even modern Anyang officials, more interested in the future, are quick to acknowledge the bones' significance and the city's past.

The torch arrives in Anyang on July 28

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