The Liangzhu culture (3400-2250 BC) is the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China.
Its area of influence extends from around Lake Tai north to Nanjing and the Chang Jiang, east to Shanghai and the sea, and south to Hangzhou.
The culture is highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts are found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery is more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals.
The type site at Liangzhu was discovered in Yuhang County, Zhejiang and initially excavated by Shi Xingeng in 1936.The culture possesses advanced agriculture, including irrigation, paddy rice cultivation and aquaculture.
Houses are often constructed with stilts on rivers or shorelines.
