North China's Nihewan Ruins, known as the hometown of the oriental human beings, has demonstrated over one million years of human history in China.
Located in Shanxi Province and Hebei Province, the Nihewan Ruins has more than 400 archaeological sites scattered on a 9,000 square kilometers area, forming a complete stratigraphic sequence spanning from two million to 10,000 years ago and building up a complete chain of evidence for the independent evolution and development of ancient human beings in East Asia.
From the control of fires by homo erectus, the budding of art in early Homo sapiens, to the beginnings of complex societies in homo sapiens, this area has preserved the complete chronology of the development of human intelligence.
First discovered in the 1920s, the area has seen the excavation of a large number of paleolithic relics dating back about two million years.
In 2018, more than 20 fossilized mammoth footprints dating back around 1.6 million years were found alongside dozens of stone tools and animal fossils at the Nihewan ruins area.
In 2024, an international research team led by Chinese scientists found that East Asian hominins had possessed advanced stone tool technology as early as 1.1 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought.
Recently, a batch of stone tools and paleontological fossils were sent to the Natural History Museum of China to meet the public.
A model of the third layer of the Majuangou site at the exhibition showcased a scene of humans dining more than 1.6 million years.
"These gray items are pieces of steppe mammoth skeletons, and scattered among them are many stone tools including lithic cores, lithic flakes and scrapers. One of the scrapers was still in close contact with animal fossils when unearthed," said Wei Yi, an associate researcher at the Natural History Museum of China.
"We also found very clear signs of slashing and cutting on many skeleton fossils, indicating that ancient humans probably made stone tools at this site, and then used the tools to dismember, cut and eat steppe mammoths. We call this the first meal of the oriental humans, about 1.66 million years ago," she added.
After many years of archaeological excavations, the seventh cultural layer has been identified at the Majuangou site. Its geological age is the early Pleistocene, and its cultural age is the early Old Stone Age.
According to paleomagnetic dating results, the ages from the third to the seventh cultural layer are 1.66, 1.69, 1.74, 1.75 and 1.76 million years, respectively, which is the clear evidence of the earliest human emergence in the Nihewan basin and even the high latitude region of the entire Northeast Asia.
The newly discovered braised soil area at the Majuangou site has aroused great attention in the academic community. This discovery may move the time for oriental humans to master controlled fire to a stage comparable to that of early Homo sapiens in Africa.
Nihewan Ruins demonstrates over one million years of human history in China
The 5th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) is a proof of China taking concrete actions in fulfilling its promise for opening up, according to a commentary published by a Chinese language media outlet, The Real Point, on Saturday.
An edited English version of the commentary is as follows:
At a time when trade protectionism is on the rise and the United States abusing tariffs is impacting economic globalization, the 5th CICPE, with the theme of "share open opportunities, co-create a better life," holds even greater significance.
During the six days (from April 13 to 18), the expo attracted the participation of a record-breaking 1,767 companies and 4,209 consumer brands from 71 countries and regions, seeing 92 billion yuan (about 12.6 billion U.S. dollars) in intended deals. In addition, hundreds of firms have already signed up for the next session. All these have demonstrated the appeal of the Chinese market.
Where does such attractiveness come from?
Many overseas exhibitors participating in the expo noted that what they valued most was the opportunities brought about by China's consumer market expansion.
Data has shown that in 2024, China's total retail sales of consumer goods hit 48.8 trillion yuan, up 3.5 percent year on year. This has made China the world's second-largest consumer goods market and the largest online retail market for more than a decade.
Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group who has taken part in the event for five years presented more than 200 products this year. It also signed a large deal worth 4.38 billion yuan on the opening day.
Zhang Shuhui, senior president of Charoen Pokphand Group's Agro-industry and Food Business China Area, said the company always has faith in Chinese market; and the potentials of China's consumer market and the country's policy of continuously expanding opening up are important reasons why they participate CICPE and invest in China.
Meanwhile, as China accelerates the development of new quality productive forces, its consumer market is constantly renewing and upgrading, injecting new impetus into the growth of foreign enterprises in the country.
The Global Innovation Index 2024, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, ranks China 11th among the world's most innovative economies.
As one of the countries that have made the fastest progress in terms of innovation over past ten years, China set up a consumer technology section for the first time at this year's CICPE, aiming to boost enterprises' long-term innovative development.
Boston Scientific exhibited five innovative products, which cover weight management and tumor intervention, hoping to stimulate China's health consumption demand with innovative supplies.
Germany's Volkswagen Group (China) displayed 11 car models, showcasing its long-term commitment and firm confidence in the Chinese market.
The year 2025 is when the free trade port (FTP) in south China's Hainan Province will officially begin independent customs operations. This means, people can enjoy a series of favorable policies, including duty-free policy, in Hainan where the CICPE was held.
Such measures are expected to introduce more quality products to the island province, turning it into the forefront of opening up.
The combination of CICPE and FTP has attracted an increasing number of exhibitors to invest in Hainan.
Noting that their Yalong Bay project was signed in Hainan last year, Nancy Liu, president of DFS China, said that it is the company's largest single investment in the past six decades, which will help them to better seize the unparalleled opportunities of consumption upgrade in China.
Vincent Boinay, L'Oreal's North Asia Zone President and China CEO, believes that China's high-quality development and high-level opening up have brought broad opportunities for foreign investment, with Hainan being a vivid epitome.
Following the conclusion of the CICPE, the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is now in full swing. Other international expos, such as China International Supply Chain Expo, China International Fair for Trade in Services and China International Import Expo are on their way.
China has been fulfilling its commitment with concrete actions – the door for opening up will be wider and wider. For foreign capitals, it is obvious where their opportunities and future are.
CICPE shows China’s concrete actions to open up: commentary
