The article contains materials on the relationship between China and the peoples of Southern Siberia in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The periods of antiquity can be reconstructed on the basis of archaeological materials. These are scientifi c publications of archaeological re-search of the most important monuments, albums of fi nds, etc. In addition, in the article, reports on the survey and excavation of archaeological sites on the territory of Southern Siberia from the Scientifi c and Branch Archive of the Institute of Archeology of the RAS for 1945–1965 are given as sources, the data from which were used in the study. They contain information that bronze and iron on the territory of this region appeared much earlier than in China.Given the complex of data, the article proves the assumption that it was through the me-diation of the peoples of Southern Siberia that bronze (in the 2nd millennium BC) and iron (in the 8th century BC) fall into the northern regions of China, and from there spread throughout its territory, acquiring specifi c features of manufacturing technology and design.