The archaeological site at Niuheliang is a unique ritual complex associated with the Hongshan Culture. Archaeologists have discovered an underground temple complex at the site – which included an altar – in addition to cairns. 1
National Treasure 国宝
Clay Sculpture Of The Head Of A Goddess, Inlaid With Jade Eyes, From The Hongshan Culture Temple 女神头像
Clay, Jadeite | Neolithic Hongshan Culture (c.4700-2900 BC) | Excavated from Niuheliang, Lingyuan, Liaoning | Liaoning Institute of Archaeology Collection. 陶、玉｜新石器时代红山文化｜凌源牛河梁遗址出土｜辽宁省文物考古研究所藏
The head of the goddess was unearthed on the west side of the main room of the goddess temple. It was moulded with yellow clay mixed with grass and the size is close to that of a real person. The face is polished and harmonious with a “Mona Lisa” smile.
Despite some missing parts, the sculpture, found in the ruins of a temple, is beguiling. She has a straight fringe and sideburns, high cheekbones, a wide mouth and round ears. The corners of her eyes are raised upward, and her sparkling eyes, her most impressive feature, are made from round stones as lucent as jade. The face had originally been painted red, though it has faded over time.2
The lower lip is pasted with clam pieces instead of teeth, which makes it more mysterious. She is considered the female ancestor of the Hongshan people, indicating some form of ancestral worship. 3
The Goddess Temple at Niuheliang
The sprawling Niuheliang (牛河梁) Neolithic archaeological site (5 km² or 700 soccer fields) in Northeast China is comprised of multiple locations with monumental structures. Located in the Manchurian province of Liaoning, the site dates back 5,000 – 5,500 years. The ancient Niuheliang site was reserved for religious purposes, ceremonies, burials, and rituals, as no evidence of dwellings or settlements have been discovered there. UNESCO reports that the area has been separated into several different categories by researchers, including: “the Goddess Temple, the platform, the stone mound, the sacrificial altar, the building foundation, and the cellar.” 4
The Goddess Temple is the most important discovery of the Niuheliang site and the Hongshan Culture, and it is also the only known temple site from prehistoric China discovered to date.
The temple features a group of goddess statues that are the life-sized as or two to three times larger than real humans. The head sculpture of a goddess perfectly portrays an image of vibrant goddess who was the female ancestor of the Hongshan people.
In addition, four altars were clearly discovered at the Niuheliang site. The function of the altars is to worship heaven, which shows that the Hongshan people had mastered relatively accurate knowledge of astronomy. In ancient China, there were distinctions between ancestor worship and deity worship. For example, in the Hongshan and Liangzhu Cultures, people used non-practical jade artifacts to worship a god, and the ceremony was presided over by a shaman.
In the Yangshao Culture, people used pottery artefacts related to daily life to worship ancestors, conducted by their descendants. It can be observed from the site location and its surroundings that the Niuheliang site is a grand cultural landscape where humanity is integrated with nature, reflecting the unity of Heaven and Man, and acknowledging human communication with the divine and the cosmos. This shows that the surrounding environment was also an integral part of worship ceremonies.5
All photos taken at Liaoning Provincial Museum Oct 2025, unless otherwise noted.
About Chinese Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes :
- China Daily: Hongshan stakes foundation claim, BEIJING, Dec. 24, 2024
At Niuheliang, Hongshan residents constructed nine platforms using layers of earth and crushed stones to hold public ritual ceremonies. Spanning around 200 years, they built from the lower parts of the hill upward, with evidence indicating a comprehensive design of the layout in advance.
It was on these platforms that various constructions were built, including ramps, symmetrical water-retaining curved walls and drainage ditches, as well as the well-known goddess temple, a milestone discovery of Hongshan studies.
There, a life-size head clay sculpture of a fit and gentle goddess was excavated in 1983, with straight fringe and sideburns, high cheekbones, a wide mouth and round right ear. The left ear was missing. Her sparkling eyes were made from lucent round stones. The face, originally painted red, had faded. https://www.enterpriseasia.org/china-daily-hongshan-stakes-foundation-claim/, accessed 9 January 2026 ↩︎ - Fang Aiqing & Wang Kaihao. Jade carvings echo through history. Thursday 01 September 2022 10:00 BST https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/china-daily/jade-carvings-echo-through-history-b2150962.html, accessed 9 January 2026 ↩︎
- Goddess Head 女神头像
女神头像出土于女神庙主室西侧，用黄粘土掺草禾塑成。大小接近真人，面部磨光并涂朱，五官比例和谐，微笑欲语，头顶有发髻或饰物，具有蒙古人种特征。尤其是双眼用玉石镶嵌，下唇贴蚌片代齿，更显神秘。“她是红山人的女祖，也就是中华民族的共祖。” Museum information card, accessed Oct 2025 ↩︎ - Guo Dashun, Early China | The Niuheliang site – Pushing back the origin of Chinese civilization to over 5,000 years ago. JAN 16, 2025.
https://deepchina.substack.com/p/early-china-the-niuheliang-site, accessed 9 January 2026 ↩︎ - Relics from the Niuheliang Goddess Temple, the most mysterious site of the ancient Hongshan. By Liz Leafloor, January 22, 2015. https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/relics-niuheliang-goddess-temple-most-mysterious-site-ancient-hongshan-002594, accessed 7 January 20226 ↩︎
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