China, Dec 29: Archaeologists in China have revealed a stunning discovery–a segment of a 2,200-year-old ancient highway, nearly 900 kilometres long, that once connected the heartland and frontier of China’s first empire, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The discovery of a major section of the Qin Straight Road sheds new light on how China’s first emperor moved armies across vast distances.
The finding of the 13-kilometre (8-mile) stretch was made public on December 9, following a survey launched last year by the Cultural Heritage Protection and Research Institute of Yulin in Shaanxi province, northwestern China, the report cited The South China Morning Post.
Identified as a section of the Qin Straight Road, archaeologists said the newly discovered segment adds compelling physical evidence to historical accounts of the route, which once stretched nearly 900 kilometres across northern China. The Qin Straight Road is believed to be one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the ancient world.
A s per historical accounts, the Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, ordered the construction of the road, which was remarkably finished in just five years. Its goal was to establish a direct north-south route from Xianyang, the capital of the Qin dynasty in modern-day Shaanxi, to Jiuyuan, which is now Baotou in Inner Mongolia. This would enable the quick movement of troops and supplies to combat the Xiongnu nomads.
Excavations along the newly identified stretch reveal advanced engineering techniques far ahead of their time. Archaeologists uncovered straight, continuous trench passes, reinforced slopes made of rammed earth, compacted roadbeds and valleys that had been deliberately filled to maintain a level route. The road averaged around 40 metres (130 feet) wide, broad enough to accommodate what would today resemble four lanes of traffic and in some places expanded to as much as 60 metres.
Investigators also documented multiple trampled surfaces, areas compacted by repeated foot and wheeled traffic, indicating sustained and intensive use. The distance between the road and surrounding mountain passes generally ranged from 50 to 90 metres, underscoring how deliberately the route was carved through difficult terrain.
Nearby, archaeologists also discovered a small auxiliary site believed to have functioned as a relay station. Ceramic fragments recovered there indicate that it remained in use from the Qin dynasty through the subsequent Han dynasty (206 BC—AD 220). The find strengthens the interpretation of the road as a long-term logistical artery rather than a short-lived construction.
“The Qin Straight Road is the second-largest national defence project in ancient China, following the Great Wall,” according to China Cultural Heritage News, a publication affiliated with the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The publication has described it as “the ancestor of the world’s highways.”
Historical texts
Historical texts vividly describe the scale of the undertaking. Ancient accounts recount how builders “filled valleys and levelled mountains” to force a straight alignment across rugged landscapes. After unifying six rival states to form China, Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian, also a key architect of the early Great Wall, to mobilise hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians to build the road as part of a coordinated northern defence system.
The historian, Sima Qian, writing in Records of the Grand Historian, documented the project in detail and personally travelled along the road. He recorded that construction began in 212 BC, the 35th year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign, and continued through the emperor’s death, with the road completed in 207 BC under his successor, Qin Er Shi.
The Great Wall and the Straight Road were used throughout the Qin era. The road allowed for the quick deployment of troops and supplies, which became a key component of imperial strategy against northern assaults, while the wall served as a broad defensive barrier.
Ironically, the route occasionally benefited the exact forces it was intended to oppose once imperial power declined. The well-planned, direct path allowed nomadic tribes to enter deep into Chinese territory with little central authority. In order to prevent invaders from using the route, Han authorities purposefully destroyed portions of it at least three times, according to historical documents.
Over time, dynastic changes and sparse documentation caused the exact route of the Qin Straight Road to fade from collective memory. Although a portion was uncovered in 1974 and another section in Fu county in 2009, large stretches remained unconfirmed.
The Yulin section posed a particular challenge because much of the landscape had been overtaken by the Mu Us Desert. Only in recent decades have re-greening efforts altered the terrain enough to make investigation feasible. Archaeologists compared historical records with modern satellite imagery, identifying faint linear features where vegetation had taken root over a former desert. Field surveys then confirmed the presence of well-preserved remains, including nine continuous trench sections aligned in an unmistakably straight line.
While erosion and human activity have obscured or erased parts of the surface, the discovery helps bridge long-standing gaps in the known route and may guide efforts to locate additional sections between Yulin and Ordos.
Together, the findings corroborate ancient texts while shedding new light on pre-industrial engineering. They confirm that more than two millennia ago, China constructed one of the world’s earliest long-distance land transport networks, an artery that once helped hold an empire together.
