An ancient metal urge

"It was a turning point in my life," he says.

"The time I took part in field excavations while analyzing metallurgical relics in the lab, it was a new beginning in my career."

Learning archaeometallurgy proved to be important for the work in Gansu. Some of the earliest metallurgical sites in China, like Xichengyi metallurgy site, were found in the Hexi Corridor, making it a core area to study early metallurgy in China, according to Chen. Archaeological work on metallurgical sites in the Hexi Corridor has been conducted for more than a decade, promoting the exploration of the appearance, development and spread of metallurgical techniques in Northwest China.

Since 2011, Chen has been engaged with two excavations concurrently, Xichengyi metallurgy site and Mazongshan jade mine site, meaning that he spent around eight to nine months in the field every year.

Mazongshan is a vast but sparsely populated area, which covers 32,000 square kilometers with less than 1,000 residents. As a result, Chen found it hard to hire local people to help the team excavate the site. Adding to the challenging work is the fact that the site is far away from the town where the team stays. To save time, they spent as many hours as possible at the dig site, eating instant noodles, cakes, cucumbers and tomatoes for their meals. In October, when strong winds and snow would become more frequent, sometimes the boiling water would get cold before the instant noodles would cook.

The archaeological work in Mazongshan spanned from 2011 to 2017. As leader of the team, Chen had to do the work of several people, which was exhausting. "On the broad Gobi Desert, which stretched to the horizon, the freezing wind often made people feel desperate. All I remember are the feelings of helplessness at that time, and the surprise at any new finding," recalls Chen.

Through hard work, and some luck, Chen and his team found important jade mines in the area. Their later research on the mines improved understanding of early jade mining, the origin of tremolite, and the transportation of jade from the west to the east of the country.