Three 1,800-year-old wooden boats were lifted from under Beijing

Three wooden boats about 1,800 years old have been lifted from seven meters underground in Beijing's Fengtai district. China Daily reported the announcement on November 2, 2026. The Beijing Institute of Archaeology described the find on Saturday, at the close of the 2026 Beijing Public Archaeology Season. The boats were in the Lize business area, on what was once a waterway.

Archaeologists place them across the Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, and the earlier Jin period, from 265 to 420. They called the three among the largest and most structurally intact inland boats of that age found in northern China. A stamped character, guan, meaning official, is visible on hollow beams in the bulkheads. The mark is being treated as evidence that the boats were built or run for the state, useful for the study of government grain transport.

The hulls use mortise-and-tenon joints, with wooden pegs reinforcing the seams. To protect the wood, the team braced each boat with an internal steel frame and lifted it whole. The boats now go to laboratories for conservation, cleaning, and research. They are not on public display yet.