1st Ld-Writethru: China Focus: China's top 10 archaeological finds of 2015

China has selected its top 10 archaeological finds of last year. The following are highlights of these discoveries.

1. PALEOLITHIC RELIC SITE IN YUNNAN

An Early Pleistocene site in Jiangchuan, Yunnan Province has given archaeologists insight into the lives of people in the region thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists found what may be the world's earliest woodwork and signs of people using fire.

Fossils of seeds provided evidence of the diet of prehistoric people and how they foraged.

2. NEOLITHIC TOMB CLUSTER IN JIANGSU

Evidence of the 5,000-year-old Neolithic civilization of Liangzhu, previously known only to have existed south of the Yangtze River, was found north of the river for the first time in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The excavation of the Jiangzhuang Ruins in Dongtai City found 280 tombs and ruins of eight houses along with wells and ditches.

Large amounts of human bones and jadeware were unearthed, providing a basis for future research on culture and physical anthropology.

3. WORLD'S EARLIEST WATER CONSERVATION SYSTEM

While excavating the Neolithic remains of the Liangzhu, a civilization dating back 5,000 years, archaeologists found a large water project outside the main settlement in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

During excavation, ruins of several large man-made mounds were found, which turned out to be dikes that formed three reservoirs, one covering 9.4 square km, four times the size of Hangzhou's iconic West Lake.

Archaeologists found 11 dikes believed to function as flood control against frequent torrential downpours.

4. NEOLITHIC SITES IN HAINAN

More than 30 prehistoric sites were found in south China's island province, Hainan.

The Yingdun site in Sanya covers 15,000 square meters, the size of two football fields. It is believed to be between 6,000 and 3,000 years old.

Archaeologists found stoneware, pottery plates and cups, as well as ornaments made of fish bones.

At the Qiaoshan site, the island's first prehistoric tomb was discovered with human remains inside. The discovery is important for studying the features and DNA of the earliest inhabitants of the island.

5. RUINS OF WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY

The Zhouyuan site, where ruins of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BC) are located, returned to the top 10 archaeological findings in 2015, after making the list in 2003.

New findings have emerged through further excavation of the site, believed to be the dwelling place of Duke Danfu, an early leader of the Zhou clan. It was known as the cradle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, one of the earliest periods in China's written history.

Among the findings were a bronze chariot and the remains of a water system.

6. BURIAL SITES AT COPPER MINE

Archaeologists discovered tombs at mining sites that could date back to as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1,100-771 B.C.) and the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 475 BC).

More than 170 pieces of bronze, pottery and jade antiques were retrieved from the 135 tombs in Daye City, Hubei Province.

Archaeologists believe that some of the tomb occupants could have been managers of the mine whose burial objects were weapons used to protect the site. Others, buried with malachite and iron ore, could be miners or technicians.

An examination of cinders found bronze content between 0.49 and 0.68 percent, suggesting a high level of skill in smelting.

7. MOST COMPLETE WESTERN HAN DYNASTY TOMB

In November 2015, excavation began on the 2,000-year-old tomb of Haihunhou, the Marquis of Haihun, which turned out to be the most complete Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) cemetery ever found.

Teeth from the coffin of the marquis are being subjected to DNA analysis.

The marquis's tomb near Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, is one of the few imperial tombs that have not been looted. More than 10,000 artifacts have been unearthed so far.

The marquis, Liu He, was grandson of Emperor Wu, whose reign ushered in one of the most prosperous periods in China's history.

8. CHINA'S OLDEST PALACE

The ruins of Taiji Hall in Luoyang City in central China's Henan Province are part of China's oldest palace.

The hall is the central part of the imperial palace of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-557).

Archaeologists have cleared 3,000 square meters of the ruins and worked out the scale, range and structure of the palace building. They estimate that the original palace might have covered an area of 100,000 square meters.

Taiji Hall is composed of a central main hall and two side halls each in the east and west. The palace building has been replicated ever since in building imperial palaces through the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, even spreading to East Asia and beyond.

9. TOMBS OF IMPERIAL CONCUBINES IN INNER MONGOLIA

Tombs found in north China's Inner Mongolia are believed to be those of an imperial concubine from the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) and her family.

Lavish articles for daily use by the royal family, such as silk, amber, and jade have been found, as well as silver, bronze and iron objects, including an incense burner and a bronze lamp in the shape of a lotus.

Five pieces of glassware believed to have originated in the Middle East suggest contact between China and the Arab world at the time.

From an inscription in a tomb, it appears to have belonged to the consort of Emperor Yelu Longxu, who was later demoted in a power struggle. She had a son and two daughters.

10. WARSHIP SUNK IN SINO-JAPANESE WAR

A shipwreck found in the Yellow Sea was confirmed to be the cruiser Zhiyuan, sunk by the Japanese navy 122 years ago during the Sino-Japanese War.

The 50-meter wreck is about 10 nautical miles southwest of Dandong Port in northeast China's Liaoning Province, at a depth of around 20 meters.

Zhiyuan, built in Britain in 1887, was one of the most advanced warships in the Beiyang Fleet, defeated in 1894 by the Japanese navy.

Severely damaged in the battle, the ship is not well preserved. Divers have retrieved more than 120 items from the seabed, including a porthole, machine gun, shells, and dinnerware bearing the characters "Zhiyuan," strong evidence pointing to the ship's identity. Endi