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Accidental discoveries have often opened the door to beauty and wonder.The rock paintings in France that date back 15,000 years, for example, were discovered by two boys who were looking for shelter from the rain.The paintings later became the “find of last century”.
Or, the Sanxingdui Ruins(三星堆遗址), known by historians as the“Ninth Wonder of the World”, were discovered in Sichuan Province by a farmer.
In the spring of 1929, Yan Qingbao, then a 43-year-old farmer, discovered a circular piece of jade(玉)while digging a hole.Driven by curiosity, he dug deeper and found a group of about 400 colourful jade pieces.
At the time, he had no idea his discovery would be as important as other wonders of the world such as, China's Great Wall and Egypt's pyramids.
Since then, more than 10,000 relics(文物), dating back to between 5,000 and 3,000 BC have been unearthed at Sanxingdui.
These relics include gold, pottery(陶器), bone tools and ivory(象牙)objects.
They prove that Sanxingdui contains the ruins of an ancient city that was once the political, economic and cultural centre of the ancient Shu Kingdom-the old name for Sichuan.
It has helped modern historians realize that Sichuan's human history goes back more than 5,000 years.And, located on the upper part of the Yangtze River, the site challenges the common idea that Chinese civilization(文明)rose from a single source-the Yellow River valley.
Sanxingdui was named the Scientific Education Base for China's Youth in March this year.
But still, only four of the Sanxingdui Ruins' 12 square kilometres have been uncovered.Who knows what other big surprises are waiting to be shown to the world?
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