text: Gold-crafting technology developed in Northwest China during the early Iron Age, following the arrival of new technological skills from the Central Asian steppes, even before the establishment of the Xiongnu (209 BCE-150 CE). These technological and artistic exchanges attest to the magnitude of communication networks between China and the Mediterranean, even before the establishment of the Silk Road. The sites of Dongtalede (Ch: 东塔勒德, 9th–7th century BCE) in Xinjiang, or Xigoupan (Ch:西沟畔, 4th–3rd century BCE) in the Ordos region of Inner Mongolia, are known for numerous artifacts reminiscent of the Scytho-Siberian art of Central Asia. 
  During the Qing dynasty the gold and silver smiths of Ningbo were noted for the delicacy and tastefulness of their work.