Conference in Wenzhou spotlights ancient Shuomen port on the Maritime Silk Road

In the eastern Chinese coastal city of Wenzhou, a major conference was recently held to unveil new archaeological findings about the ancient port of Shuomen Ancient Port — a key node of the historic Maritime Silk Road. The event was organized by the Chinese Academy for Cultural Heritage, the National Center for Archaeology, and the cultural heritage authority of Zhejiang Province. At the conference the new Wenzhou Institute of Shuomen Ancient Port was inaugurated, and the existing Wenzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology was authorized to be renamed accordingly — a move seen as critical for strengthening protection and research of the area’s heritage. Archaeologists shared that this year’s excavations wrapped up successfully, uncovering over 1,000 square meters of coastal relics dating from the period of the Five Dynasties to the early Northern Song Dynasty — filling a significant chronological gap in our understanding of the port’s coastline history. These discoveries offer tangible evidence supporting Wenzhou’s candidacy as a cultural heritage site tied to the Maritime Silk Road. Scholars argue the findings deepen our understanding of ancient China’s maritime civilization and highlight the significance of Shuomen as a historic trading hub — potentially boosting cultural preservation and interest in heritage tourism. #MaritimeSilkRoad #Archaeology #Wenzhou #CulturalHeritage #SlimScan #GrowthStocks #CANSLIM