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On Jan 30, the Jizhong and Hechangfang sites in Yuecheng district, Shaoxing, along with the Mausoleum No 7 site of the Song Six Mausoleums, were selected among Zhejiang's top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2025.

Located in the southern part of the ancient city of Shaoxing, the Jizhong and Hechangfang sites yielded significant findings. Structures such as Yue State palace platforms and administrative buildings from the Western Han to Six Dynasties period (206 BC-589) confirm Shaoxing's historical role as the capital of the Yue State and the seat of Kuaiji Commandery. Nearby, the Tashan Hechangfang site uncovered high-level sacrificial remains from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC), pushing back the first human settlement in Shaoxing to 6,000 years ago. Together, these sites provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the history of Shaoxing's urban civilization.

At the Mausoleum No 7 site of the Song Six Mausoleums, archaeologists identified the core burial chamber, known as the "stone burial chamber", of a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) imperial mausoleum. The unique spatial and axial relationship between this chamber and its ritual platform reflects modifications made by southern political groups to imperial burial practices, offering new insights into the evolution of Southern Song imperial mausoleum systems.

These discoveries represent major advances in the archaeology of the Yue State, Han Dynasty, and Southern Song period, highlighting Shaoxing's key role in large-scale site archaeology and the study of historically layered cities. They contribute a vital "Shaoxing chapter" to the broader narrative of Zhejiang's history.