4-12 August 2017
Written by Dr. Yu Xiyun (School of History, Wuhan University), translated into English by CCSC.
From August 4-12, 2018, the first "Cross-Straits Archaeological Summer Camp", or officially “The Hubei Archaeological Cultural Exchange Trip for University Students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan,” was successfully held at the Zoumaling Archaeological site in Shishou City, Hubei Province. The event was hosted by the School of History of Wuhan University and the Cultural Tourism Bureau of Shishou City. It was co-organized by the Zoumaling Archaeological Site Park Management Office and Chinese Cultural Studies Center, Hong Kong. More than 30 teachers and students from National Taiwan University, National Taiwan University of Arts and Hong Kong Baptist University, Macau University, Wuhan University, Tsinghua University and Anyang Normal University attended the summer camp.
Summer camp activities include archaeological courses, field archaeological practices, and visits to sites and museums. Professor Liu Ching-Min from the National Taiwan University of Arts, Meng Huaping, a researcher at the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Professor Yu Xiyun from the School of History at the Wuhan University, Dr. Shan Siwei, and Mr. Pengtao of the Zoumaling Archaeological Site Park Management Office gave lectures. The field archaeological activities include scraping soil surfaces, analysis of soil strata, delineating different activity areas, record-keeping, tidying unearthed relics, inventory, and making archaeological illustrations of artifacts. The group also visited Jingzhou Museum, Xiongjiatun National Archaeological Site Park (a Warring States period site), Jinan ancient city site (Chu State capital during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period), Qujialing (Neolithic site), Shijiahe (Neolithic site) and other sites.
The summer camp students braved the heat and actively participated in various activities. They were without complaint, and showed great interest in field archaeology. Students from different universities on both sides of the strait lived together in collective dormitories, ate at large communal tables and rice, fully experiencing the hardships and joys of field archaeology, deepening interactions, and forming meaningful connections.
 A simple opening ceremony |
 Professor Yu Xiyun from Wuhan University gives an introductory lesson on archaeological excavation. |