On January 10, 2020, six archaeological projects were made public as "China's 2019 archaeological discoveries of the year" at the annual archaeology forum of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The Xiwubi Site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi Province, which was jointly excavated by the Archaeological Institute of the National Museum of China (NMC), the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and the Yuncheng Institute of Cultural Relics, is among the list.

The Xiwubi site is located in the south of Xiwubi Village, Gujiang Town, Jiangxian County, Shanxi Province. It is on a loess tableland on the north bank of the Sushui River, about six kilometers north of the Zhongtiao Mountain. This site is the first professional copper smelting ruins excavated near the heartland of the Xia and Shang Dynasties, and also the first of its kind in metallurgical archaeology about the two dynasties. It provides valuable physical materials for in-depth study of early copper smelting handicraft technology and production modes, as well as for exploring the connections between the rise of the Xia and Shang Dynasties and the control, development and use of copper as a strategic resource.

During the 2018-2019 archaeological excavation of the Xiwubi site, a large number of Xia and Shang relics were unveiled, including house ruins, remnants of ash pits, cellar holes, copper smelting furnaces, charcoal kilns, remains of copper ore, smelting slag, furnace wall, blast pipes, pottery molds, stone molds, as well as pottery, stone, bone artifacts, among others. Technological tests reveal that the Xiwubi site is a copper smelting site dating back to the Xia and Shang Dynasties. It primarily produced pure copper while also casting some small bronze wares.

The other five major archaeological projects entering the list are: a Neolithic site of Longshan Culture in Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province; the Honghe ruins in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province; the stylobate remains of the Imperial City Terrace in the Shimao ruins, Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province; a Zeng Kingdom noble's tomb of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) in Zaoshulin, Suizhou City, Hubei Province; and a tomb with frescos which dates back to Tibetan Tubo Kingdom (about 618-842) in Quangou, Wulan County, Qinghai Province.

Established in 2002, the annual CASS Archaeology Forum is hosted by the CASS and co-organized by the CASS Institute of Archaeology and Archaeology magazine. It is a platform for exchanging the latest archaeological information and displaying major archaeological discoveries in China, as well as an academic platform for archaeological progress.