BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's archaeological news from the past week:

-- 5,000-year-old ebony

A rare piece of ebony dating back around 5,000 years has recently been found in a river in China's southernmost island province of Hainan.

Experts said the ancient wood measures 20 meters in length, 12 tonnes in weight and has a maximum width of 1.4 meters.

Zhang Jinshan, president of the provincial root carving culture and art association, said ebony is a scarce and non-renewable wood. "The finding in the county can help us learn about the activities of ancient humans and changes of the natural environment here."

-- Earliest Chinese poetry collection

The earliest version of the "Book of Songs" in known existence was recently unveiled after Chinese researchers restored bamboo slips from 2,400 years ago.

The 93 slips, crafted during the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.), are 48.5 centimeters long and 0.6 centimeters wide each and feature 58 poems from the "Book of Songs."

Proclaimed as a Confucian classic, "The Book of Songs," which dates from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period (1100 B.C.-476 B.C.), features at least 305 poems and is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry in the world.

-- Mausoleum of Qinshihuang

The Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of a united China, has received more than 120 million tourists, including 20 million from overseas since a museum was built on the site and opened to the public in 1979.

Located at the northern foot of Lishan Mountain, 35 kilometers northeast of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the mausoleum of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) received more than 5 million visitors in 2014 and 8.5 million in 2018.

An army of more than 7,000 life-sized terra cotta warriors and horses was discovered at the site of the tomb in 1974. With an area of 56 square kilometers, the mausoleum is the world's largest underground mausoleum. Enditem

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