On July 13, 2006, Yinxu, or the Yin Ruins, in Anyang City, central China's Henan Province, achieved inclusion on the World Cultural Heritage List during the 30th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Conference, marking the 33rd world cultural heritage site in China. On October 30, 2017, oracle bone inscriptions, the earliest documentary evidence found in China, were listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

As the birthplace of oracle bone inscriptions and the origin of Chinese characters, the Yin Ruins carry the legacy of over a millennium, blending different civilizations. It illuminates a diverse and integrated civilization spanning more than 3,000 years. Recognized for its intricately structured monarchy and state, it holds a prominent position in the global academic community as a vital component of the world's civilization system.

An ox-shaped bronze Zun wine vessel, the only one of its kind unearthed at the Yin Ruins, is now in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. [Photo courtesy of He Yuling]

The Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BCE), the second monarchy in Chinese history after the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century–16th century BCE), endured for over 500 years from the 16th to the 11th century BCE. In the same era globally, notable ancient civilizations include the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, the Third Babylonian Dynasty in the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin, the Hittite Empire in Western Asia, the Rig Veda period in the Indus River Basin, and the Mycenaean civilization in the Mediterranean region.