The first year that we surveyed in China our colleagues brought us to five known Longshan period sites in the greater Rizhao region. We had little context for these sites as we visited them by bus, and had no perspective on just where they were located, how far apart they were, and what lay between them. Early on, we made a joint decision, and Liangchengzhen became our focus and the center of our study region. We surveyed it the first year, and our team has done extensive work at the site in subsequent years. We also surveyed Dantu, which is close to Liangchengzhen, the first year. Reaching Yaowangcheng is our goal for next year, and we also hope to reach Xiao Dai Tan in 2003 or 2004. Both of these latter sites sit outside the area we currently have surveyed. Over the past week, our survey region engulfed the fifth of those sites, Dong Hai Yu. The fact that we are getting near a time that all five of those original Longshan sites will be within a fully surveyed study region is very exciting to me, as it is something that I hoped to see happen in my lifetime. It is even more rewarding because I have helped see the work through myself, as frankly I never thought that I would continue to come to China for so many seasons to help see this effort through.

Dong Hai Yu (which literally means 'Eastern' 'Sea' 'Area') was excavated by local archaeologists in the 1970s. Since then, the site has been heavily impacted by the construction of a new railway track, an episode of major seaside growth, and the building of much new housing. When the archaeological work was conducted in the 1970s, little systematic effort was devoted to trying to understand the extent of the site, and the traditional viewpoint was that the site covered approximately eight hectares. Having walked over the site for two days, we now think that the settlement may have been as large as 50 hectares (a more than fivefold increase in its estimated extent).

Lately, our regional study has been generating more interest than has been the case in previous years. Last week, we had two Japanese students visit for a few days, and then this week, a student from Beijing University and a representative of the Shandong Province, Institute of Archaeology surveyed with us for several days. During their stay, they asked many technical and logistical questions as they are planning a regional study in another part of Shandong. We very much welcome this interest and the implementation of similar settlement pattern studies elsewhere in China. Local Rizhao television also interviewed Anne and Hui, while we were surveying around Dong Hai Yu.

Although Dong Hai Yu (DG-DHY-1 is our site number) is less than a kilometer from the sea, we later found a later Eastern Zhou and Han site that was littered with surface pottery less than 100 meters from the shore. Working and walking by the sea is fascinating because you can see an entirely different array of contemporary economic activities than one finds inland. For example, many people were out repairing their fishing nets this morning. Nearby, a team of people were cleaning and tying off the claws of freshly caught crabs that were just carted in by large wicker baskets that were loaded on wheelbarrows.

In general, most of the people that we run into are extremely friendly and curious. Last year, when I walked through an orchard, a very generous farmer gave me such a giant bag of apples that I almost hurt my back carrying them in my pack. Today, a warm farm family handed me a bag of sweet potatoes as I passed by their small homestead. Despite my protests, they would not take 'no' for an answer. When I tried to walk off politely, they grabbed my coat and persisted in their generosity. With no place to cook and prepare this gift to eat, I passed the potatoes along to our driver, Mr. Zhang. These wonderful experiences are the kind that we remember and relish year after year.