Longshan Culture was typical of the late Neolithic Age (2900 BC to 2100 BC). Discovered in 1928 when the remains of the Chengziya site at Longshan, Zhangqiu County near Jinan, Shandong Province were being excavated, Longshan Culture dates from 2400 BC to 1900 BC. As far as Shandong Province is concerned, Dawenkou Culture (4300 BC–2400 BC) predates Longshan Culture and was the basis for it.

The influence of Longshan Culture can be found in the middle and lower areas of the Yellow River Valley flowing thru Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi Provinces. Artifacts from the Longshan Culture are characterized with the applications of both copper and stone.

Compared with the Yangshao Culture, farming techniques in agriculture and the raising of livestock have greatly improved in the Longshan Culture. In Longshan Culture, domesticated crops included not only millet, but also rice. Domesticated livestock included pigs, dog, cattle, sheep and chicken. The tools of agricultural production included flat-drilled stone shovels, clam shovels and teethed clam sickles. The appearance of such manufacturing tools as adzes and chisels shows that the wood-manufacturing industry was well developed at that time.

The Longshan Culture also made great advancements in the area of pottery making, with black pottery being one of the more striking examples of this remarkable culture. Some of the walls of the pottery were as thin as eggshells with surfaces that were quite bright. Some of the more common pieces produced were bowls, basins, jars, urns and a variety of cooking vessels. Nowadays, the black pottery that was and continues to be produced have been regarded as works of art, and are appreciated and sought after by many people.

From the site of Longshan Culture have been unearthed some delicate jade ware, such as jade shovels, jade adzes with impressed animal face patterns, and bird-shaped jade pendants. These items show that the jade carving industry was also advanced. And two pieces of brass awls unearthed from the Longshan Culture site prove that bronze was being smelted at that time.

In architecture, the rectangular earth-platform pattern buildings were set up during that time which can be seen in the remains of the Longshan Culture found in Shangdong Province. The earth platforms were constructed by a technique known as “rammed earth” that came into being during the Shang Dynasty (16th B.C-11th B.C.). In recent years, at least ten of these kinds of platforms have been found with seven of them closely situated in a group in Shandong Province.