09 September 2026
The 5,000-year-old city of Liangzhu has mounds, dams and city walls built in a challenging waterlogged site.
Liangzhu City in what is now China was built some five millennia ago using techniques passed down through generations. Credit: Wang Chuan/Visual China Group/Getty
Building on wetlands is difficult, but about 5,000 years ago, people in what is now eastern China were finding sophisticated ways to reshape a watery landscape and make it stable enough to live on1.
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