FILE: Gansu Province, northwest China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Bird's eye view photo of Yucun historical site
2. Various of photos showing relics

FILE: Beijing, China - Jan 10, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Xingcan, director, Institute of Archeology, China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS):
"This was the first time to unveil the concrete characteristics of the tombs at that time, so it filled the gaps in history and enabled us to know features of that age (3,500-2,500 B.C.) when the Chinese civilization originated."

FILE: Hubei Province, central China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Photos showing ancient pots
5. Photos showing relics

FILE: Hebei Province, north China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Bird's eye view photos of Taizicheng historical site
7. Photos of relics

FILE: Shaanxi Province, northwest China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Bird's eye view photo of Lushanmao historical site
9. Photos of relics

FILE: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Bird's eye view photo of Husta historical site
11. Photos of relics

FILE: Sichuan Province, southwest China - 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Bird's eye view photo of Chengba historical site
13. Photos showing relics

China's National Cultural Heritage Administration revealed the short-listed 20 archaeological discoveries of 2018 Tuesday, all of which will go into a second round to compete for the top ten.

The list includes the Qingtang site in south China's Guangdong Province, the Chenghe Neolithic site in central China's Hubei Province, and the Huangsipu Site in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The oldest among the 20 sites is the Qingtang site, a classical cave site at the transition phase between the Neolithic Age and the Old Stone Age. Archaeologists there have unveiled many relics and excavated over 10,000 specimens, including tombs, chipped stone tools, human fossils and potteries.

Another impressive site would be the Chenghe site, where the archaeological team found 235 ancient tombs dating back around 5,000 years to the Neolithic Age.

It is the first prehistoric archaeological discovery of a large tomb field in the middle reach of the Yangtze River, and Chen Xingcan, the director with the Institute of Archeology, China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the site is of great research value.

"This was the first time to unveil the concrete characteristics of the tombs at that time, so it filled the gaps in history and enabled us to know features of that age (3,500-2,500 B.C.) when the Chinese civilization originated," said Chen.

Taizicheng site in north China's Hebei Province, Chengba site in southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Xiwubi site in north China's Shanxi Province were also listed to compete for the final top ten.