China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration announced Monday that engravings discovered high on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been confirmed as the only known and the oldest Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.–207 B.C.) stone inscription preserved at its original site.
The find, dating back more than 2,200 years, is also the highest-altitude artifact of its kind from that period.
The stone lies on the northern shore of Gyaring Lake in Maduo County, Qinghai Province, at an elevation of approximately 14,100 feet (4,300 meters). The carved surface covers about 1.7 square feet (0.16 square meters) and contains 37 characters, according to the administration.
Discovery on the plateau
The inscription was first uncovered in 2020 by an expedition led by Hou Guangliang, a professor at Qinghai Normal University. Hou said the discovery shows that people had already ventured deep into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the Qin Dynasty. He described it as vivid historical proof of China’s diverse yet unified civilization.
For more than two millennia, an inscription carved high on the windswept Qinghai–Tibet Plateau guarded its secret. Today, Chinese cultural heritage authorities confirmed its origin: the First Emperor of Qin.
The inscription is carved on a lakeside rock at an elevation of 4,306… pic.twitter.com/tVQo7Loumy
— Zhai Xiang (@ZhaiXiang5) September 15, 2025
Quest for “elixir of life”
Emperor Qinshihuang, known as the first ruler to unify China, has long been linked to myths of immortality. That connection resurfaced this June, when Tong Tao, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, published an article on the find.
Tong suggested the stone recorded the emperor’s alchemists searching for the “elixir of life” and stopping at Gyaring Lake, near the source of the Yellow River.
His interpretation, however, stirred debate. Some scholars questioned whether the carving truly dated to the Qin Dynasty, with critics raising the possibility that it might be a modern forgery.
Scientific authentication
The controversy prompted the National Cultural Heritage Administration to launch an investigation. Experts conducted field studies and seminars before the laboratory analysis.
Deng Chao, an official with the administration, said the results confirmed the engraving’s authenticity. High-precision information technology, along with mineral and elemental analysis, ruled out the use of modern alloy tools.
Both the grooves of the characters and the stone’s surface contained secondary minerals, clear evidence of long-term natural weathering.
Tests also showed the stone is quartz sandstone, a material resistant to erosion and abrasion, making recent carving unlikely.
A model for future studies
Zhao Chao, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology who participated in the study, said the investigation relied on systematic scientific methods to confirm the artifact’s age. He called the approach a new model for authenticating ancient inscriptions in China.
Filling gaps in history
Officials said the inscription has remained largely intact, with most of its characters still legible. Deng noted it features a complete date not found in other surviving records, providing fresh details for historians. The discovery, he added, carries significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.
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