跨湖桥遗址

This guide to the Kuahuqiao archaeological site in Hangzhou follows Leping Jiang's excavation team, who in 2002 struck something solid under the mud of a marshy Neolithic settlement on the edge of the Yangtze delta. You'll hear how the boat's builders worked without a metal blade, charring a pine log with fire and scraping it smooth with stone adzes, alongside paddles and woven matting left behind. The same soil held early rice grains and pig bones on the road to domestication. Stand at the display case and look for the scorch marks still visible on the hull.