Brief synthesisThe Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City was the centre of power and belief of an early regional state in the Circum-Taihu Lake Area. The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City reveals an early regional state with rice-cultivating agriculture as its economic base, and social differentiation and a unified belief system, which existed in the Late Neolithic period in China. Criterion (iv): The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu illustrates the transition from small-scale Neolithic societies to a large integrated political unit with hierarchy, rituals and crafts. Protection and management requirementsThree components sites, Area of Yaoshan Site (01), Area of Causeway in Front of the Mountains (03-2), and Area of City Site (04) of the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, have obtained the highest-level national protection and are located in the Key Protection Subzone within the protection range of “Liangzhu Archaeological Site”, a National Priority Protected Site for the protection of cultural relics. All four areas of the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City share the same buffer zone and are managed effectively in a uniform way by a common management authority – the Hangzhou Liangzhu Archaeological Administrative District Management Committee.