Liangzhu means "beautiful islet in the water" in Chinese. However, over twenty years ago, there were about 30 mining sites around the Liangzhu archaeological ruins, generating noise pollution and thick dust.

A turning point occurred in 2003. On July 16 of that year, Xi Jinping, then the Party chief of Zhejiang province, took a trip to the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu ancient city.

"The Liangzhu archaeological ruins bear testimony to the existence of at least 5,000 years of Chinese civilization," Xi said, adding that, "it is a rare treasure - we must protect it well."