Hubei Provincial Museum

Last Update: 2013-4-24; By chinatravel   

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One of Wuhan’s most famous and impressive attractions is the Hubei Provincial Museum. Standing by the beautiful East Lake, it was opened in 1956 to showcase some of Hubei’s incredible archaeological finds.

The museum is built on a massive scale. It covers an area of more than 51,000 square meters and has over 9,000 square meters of floor space. A 170-strong staff team makes sure that everything runs smoothly.  

As for the exhibitions, the scale is equally impressive. There are about 200,000 relics and items with a distinctly local flavor. Important examples are a bronze chime bell from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of the Zeng State, many bronzes, the Sword of King Goujian of the Yue State, the Spear of King Fuchai of the Wu State, the Jiangling Chu Bamboo Slip and the Yumeng Bamboo Slip.

Digs in Hubei province have unearthed Paleolithic artefacts such as the Yunxi and Changyan pithecanthropus fossils as well Neolithic finds in Chengbeixi, Daxi, Qujialing and Xijiahe. These discoveries prove that the Changjiang and Yellow River Valleys were the cradles of Chinese culture and civilization.

Nearly 300 Chu State tombs have been excavated in Hubei, yielding tens of thousands of relics which are now on show in the museum. One noteworthy find was a collection of silks from the No.1 Mashan Chu Tomb. To find ancient silk in such good condition is extremely rare, and the hoard is known as the Silk Treasury of the Warring States Period. Thousands of lacquer items were found in the tomb too.

The museum also holds artefacts from the 1973 discovery of an ancient copper smelter on Tonglu Mountain in Dazhi. This finding shows that China led the world in mining and smelting techniques from the Warring States Period through the Western Han Dynasty.

So if you want to get a taste of Hubei’s rich history, be sure to pay a visit to the Provincial Museum when you are in Wuhan.

Important Tips on Hubei Provincial Museum

Location:
No.156 East Lake Road, Wuchang

Ticket Price:
free ticket

Opening Time:
8:30 a.m.--12:00 a.m.(no admission afer 11:30 a.m.) 1:30 p.m.--5:00 p.m.(no admission after 3:30 p.m.)

How to get there:

Take Bus 701, 108, 578, 552, 706, 605, 712 or 411.

Tips:

Recommended time for a visit: 2 hours

 

Comments and Ratings on Hubei Provincial Museum
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posted by roger at 2009-2-1 3:45:00

This is one of the few places worth visiting in Wuhan. The musuem display a set of ancient music instrument, which is said to be unearthed from a tomb dating back to over 2000 years ago. Amamingly, the instrument still work.

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"Do not miss the ancient Chu Music performance" Good
posted by great traveler at 2008-10-12 22:05:00

All the instruments used in the performance were digged out from ancient Chu State tomb. It's amazing that they still work.

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"Amazing collections of ancient items" Average
posted by Lovechina at 2008-2-3 22:06:00

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"I like visit museum. Is it really free?"
posted by irina at 2008-8-13 2:54:00[Closed for answering]

love koichi replied at 2008-8-13 3:55:00

It is not free. I went there in 2006. But it has student ticket.

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