Archaeologists in northwest China's Shaanxi Province have discovered a large-scale relic site estimated to be 2,200 years old on the outskirts of the provincial capital Xi'an.

The site is the biggest of its kind to have been excavated in the past three decades within the palace grounds of Changle Palace, an imperial residence from the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-25AD)

The unearthed ruins, which lie in the northwest part of the palace grounds, are 160 meters long east-to-west and 50 meters wide north-to-south, with a central structure, according to initial excavation results.

Archaeologists have also identified two courts in the northeast part of the structure, each installed with a sedimentation tank. They are separated by an adobe wall and linked underground by a ceramic pipe. And two other pipes, each over 30 meters long, are believed to have been used to drain the water stored in the tanks.

According to Liu Zhendong, an archaeologist with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who is leading the archaeological team, the newly discovered ruins are probably the main structure, namely the front hall of the Changle Palace, or the main imperial court.

Liu also implied that there could have been a passageway that linked the two sites, which are only 30 meters apart.

The discovery will offer new clues to the study of the layout and history of ancient Chinese palaces, Liu said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2006)