About the Book

[Text Language: French] If Paris was built around Notre-Dame and Rome around the Coliseum, Chinese cities reveal a completely different spatial and symbolic logic. From Erlitou, the enigmatic cradle of Chinese civilization, to the Forbidden City, archaeologist Xu Hong guides readers through sixteen metropolises that shaped China.

The result of forty years of excavation, this volume relies on over 130 visual documents—unpublished plans, archaeological photographs, and 3D reconstructions—to bring these lost metropolises back to life. Combining scientific rigor with narrative flair, Xu Hong transforms silent stones into a captivating fresco of urban history.

About the Author

Xu Hong is one of the most influential archaeologists of his generation. As a Research Director at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and head of excavations at the Erlitou site, he has revolutionized the understanding of China’s earliest cities. This is his first major work translated into French.