Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province in central China, has removed rubbish and debris from a rampart built 3,500 years when the area served as the capital of Shang Dynasty (B.C.16th-B.C.11th century).

A sewage ditch has been turned into a green belt outside the rampart, and trees, grass and flowers have taken the place of the garbage which used to be scattered along the seven-kilometer-long rampart which was built by ramming mud.

The Shang ruins located in today's downtown Zhengzhou have been under national protection since 1961, and the cultural relics there are the largest and best preserved early Shang Dynasty remains in China.

The ruins have been identified as having once been a palace area, residences of slave owners and ordinary people, a workshop area, water supply facility, and a sacrificial altar. (Xinhua)