China Travel Wire

Chinese provincial museums are unique in that they specialize in local history, from the earliest times to the modern era. Not all provinces and cities have their own museum, or one that is open and not under renovation during your visit. If they do have one, definitely reserve about a half day to explore their collections — you may not only learn a lot, but grow a deeper and more complex understanding of the sites you visit during your stay. They’re typically inexpensive (in dollar terms) and have exhibitions you would probably never get to see in the US or elsewhere. Some excellent museums you may want to consider visiting, depending on where you are, include:

1) Beijing City Museum. In the southeastern section of the city, the museum is housed in a very near (2006) and architecturally wondrous building. The museum is a city museum, but covers the entire history of Beijing and its surround suburban regions, including the Paleolithic period, the Warring States period, the Liao and Jin dynasties, and the Ming and Qing.

2) Xinjiang Museum (Urumqi). Dedicated entirely to the regional history and culture of Xinjiang, this museum has an eclectic mix of Han, Uighur, Kazakh, Mongolian, and Tajik cultural relics and ceremony displays. The museum also houses a rare collection of highly well preserved Tarim Basin mummies — a must see.

3) Hubei Provincial Museum (Wuhan). This museum covers ancient and modern Hubei history and culture, including a vast collection of Chu Kingdom (Warring States period) relics and artifacts. The most impressive and eye-catching individual display is a enormous set of bronze ceremony rites bells in their original arrangement when they were unearthed from a Chu Kingdom Duke’s tomb in or near Jingzhou.

4) Sha’anxi Provincial Museum (Xi’an). While overshadowed by the Terracotta Warriors in the suburbs (a museum itself), a visit here is a great way to brush up on the “other” dynasties and societies that laid claim to the region. Xi’an (in ancient times called “Chang’an,” or “Long peace”) served as the capital of the Western Han and later the Tang Dynasty, arguably China’s greatest dynasty; the peak of Tang rule from the early 7th century until the Anlushan Rebellion in 755 AD is often compared with the Roman Pax Romana centuries earlier. Definitely spend a half day here soaking up the history of one of the most important cities of ancient China.