A bamboo slip from Tuzishan Relics in Yiyang,Hunan province.Photo Provided to China Daily

4. Tuzishan Relics, from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) to the Wu Dynasty (AD 220-280), Yiyang, Hunan province

Sixteen ancient wells have been discovered at the relics site, and 11 of them contain about 15,000 bamboo slips, traditionally used to keep records. The bamboo slips are from several dynasties.

The slips include a proclamation of accession by the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and records of wars at the end of that dynasty, plus numerous government and legal documents, from different periods of time.

Many other relics, including copper mirrors, eave tiles, as well as animal and plant specimens, were also found in the wells.

"It's no exaggeration to say the relics themselves present a history of bamboo slips and calligraphy," says Zhang Chunlong, a researcher from the Hunan Provincial Institute of Archaeology. "The period of upheaval in the late Qin Dynasty and many historical events are vividly presented via these files. It will greatly help us better understand that time's political system of local governments as well as historical geographic names."