Wangfujing Paleolithic MuseumⅡ

Instead of slinging the bones in a skip or using them to support the foundations, the developers called a halt to allow proper archeologists to take a look. The construction project for Oriental Plaza paused for eight months while excavations were completed, and in 2001, the area was presented by Li Jiacheng, the original investor, to the Dongcheng government, hence the incongruous "Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum" sign amidst the usual marblefest of a glitzy mall.

Back in the day

"Dark carbon ashes, burned bones and stones, Stone Age tools and animal fossils." A typical Wangfujing shopping list? Perhaps, if you're Li Qiang, deputy director of the museum, who describes some of the objects found in the original excavation. The existence of so many cutting tools led the original experts to conclude that the area now known as Oriental Plaza was once a hunting ground for Paleolithic man (hence the hunting tableaux).