Sanxingdui Museum is located by the Yazi River in the west of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, at the northeast corner of the Sanxingdui Ruins, a key national cultural relic protection unit. It is 38 kilometers south of Chengdu and 26 kilometers north of Deyang. As a national first-class museum and one of the first batch of national 4A-level scenic areas, it is a large modern thematic site museum in China, featuring four major characteristics: cultural relics, architecture, exhibitions, and gardens. The museum covers an area of about 1,000 mu, with a construction area of about 16,767.28 square meters. Its new hall was officially opened on July 27, 2023, covering an area of 66 mu with a construction area of 55,000 square meters, making it the largest single museum building in Southwest China.
History and Culture
In 1929, a jade and stone ware pit was discovered in Yan's Yard, Zhenwu Village, Sanxingdui Ruins, unearthed three to four hundred pieces of jade and stone wares, and subsequent excavation work was carried out successively. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the excavation of the Sanxingdui Ruins continued to deepen. In the 1980s and 1990s, to protect and develop the Sanxingdui Ruins, Sanxingdui Museum took a loan of 20 million yuan, leading the way in nationwide museum construction with loans. It laid the foundation in August 1992 and was officially opened in October 1997.
The Sanxingdui Ruins cover an area of about 12 square kilometers, dating from 4,500 to 2,900 years ago. In 1986, Sacrifice Pits 1 and 2 were discovered, unearthed more than 4,000 cultural relics such as bronze divine trees and bronze standing figures, "amazing the world once awakened". Since 2019, new Sacrifice Pits 3 to 8 have been discovered, unearthed more than 17,000 cultural relics of various types, "amazing the world again when reawakened". Archaeology shows that the Sanxingdui Ruins are the largest capital site of the ancient Shu Kingdom during the Shang Dynasty in the Yangtze River Basin so far, an important witness to the origin and development pattern of the pluralistic and integrated Chinese civilization, and an important part of the Chinese civilization.
Main Attractions
Comprehensive Hall
Located in the front of the park after entering the museum gate, the exhibition line is over 800 meters long, covering an area of 4,000 square meters. The building is in the shape of a semi-arc slope ecological structure, with 8 exhibition units in total. It consists of 6 exhibition areas such as "Dominating the Southwest", "Communicating with Gods through Jade", and "Heavenly God Tree", with the main content of the "Ancient City, Ancient Kingdom, Ancient Shu Culture Exhibition". It displays bronze wares represented by mysterious bronze statues, gold wares represented by the brilliant golden staff, and jade and stone wares represented by jade Zhang with full patterns, showing the social style of ancient Shu.
Bronze Hall
With a construction area of 6,500 square meters, it has one hall and five exhibition areas. The hall is the preface hall, and the five exhibition areas are "Solemn God Palace", "Kingdom of Gods", "Wonderful Treasures", "Mental Journey", and "Eternal Mystery". It mainly displays the dazzling Sanxingdui bronzes, including magnificent god statues, vertical-eyed masks, and earth-reaching god trees, showing the romantic fantasies of the ancestors and their respect for the gods.
Restoration Hall
It has established cultural relic storage areas and restoration rooms for pottery, jade, metal, and ivory, etc., which can carry out protection and restoration of different types of cultural relics. The hall is equipped with a special analysis instrument room, equipped with advanced instruments such as scanning electron microscopes, laser Raman spectrometers, and X-ray colorimeters to detect the composition of cultural relics. Glass partitions are used, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in watching cultural relic restorers restore cultural relics on site.
New Hall
The exhibition of the new hall is closely linked to the theme of "Ancient City, Ancient Kingdom, Ancient Shu Culture", divided into three major exhibition areas: "Century Dream", "Magnificent Capital", and "Heaven, Earth, Man and God". The new cultural relics are the highlight. In addition to some cultural relics unearthed in 1986 moved to the new hall, nearly 600 cultural relics are displayed for the first time, with a total of more than 1,500 pieces (sets) of various cultural relics displayed, three times the number of original exhibited cultural relics. Some cultural relics have achieved "reuniting across pits after three thousand years", and the exhibition method of "digital restoration demonstration" is used to reproduce the charm of cultural relics. It also integrates immersive archaeological shelter scenes, multimedia sand table folding screens, and creates an immersive special hall "Duguang Wilds" to show the ancient Shu style.
Food
Braided Rabbit
A traditional food in Guanghan, made of high-quality rabbit meat through multiple processes such as curing, shaping, and smoking. It is brownish-red in appearance, with tight meat that is not firewood, rich five-spice flavor, salty and delicious, and is a local characteristic snack and gift.
Lianshan Twice-Cooked Pork
Famous for its large and thin slices of meat, it is bright red in color and not greasy. Using local pork, stir-fried with green peppers, garlic sprouts, etc., it has a mellow taste and a strong Sichuan cuisine flavor, and is one of the must-try foods in Guanghan.
Guanghan Gold Silk Noodles
The noodles are as thin as hair, with exquisite craftsmanship. The noodles are smooth and chewy, paired with fresh bone soup and seasonings such as scallions and coriander, the soup is fresh and delicious, with an excellent taste that is unforgettable.
Chengdu Cuisine (Surrounding)
As Sanxingdui Museum is close to Chengdu, you can taste classic Chengdu dishes, such as spicy hot pot with rich pot bottom and abundant ingredients; Long Wonton with thin skin and large filling, fresh soup; Zhong Shui Jiao (Zhong's Dumplings) with special red oil chili and other seasonings, slightly sweet and salty, delicious, etc.
Tickets
The ticket price is 72 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "三星堆博物馆" on WeChat to get the latest updates or purchase tickets online.
Opening Hours
Sanxingdui Museum is closed on New Year's Eve every year, and in principle, it is not closed on other days (except for temporary closure announcements). The daily opening hours are 08:30-18:00 for the Exhibition Hall, and the stop entry time is 17:00; 09:00-18:00 for the Restoration Hall. During golden weeks, short holidays, and winter and summer vacations (January, February, July, August), extended services are implemented, with opening hours of 08:30-20:00 and stop entry time of 18:00.
Tour Routes
After the new hall is opened, you can first visit the new hall, successively tour the three major exhibition areas of "Century Dream", "Magnificent Capital", and "Heaven, Earth, Man and God", appreciate more than 1,500 pieces (sets) of cultural relics, and focus on the cross-pit reunion cultural relic combinations and digital restoration demonstrations. Then go to the Comprehensive Hall and follow the order of 6 exhibition areas such as "Dominating the Southwest" and "Communicating with Gods through Jade" to feel the material civilization of ancient Shu culture. Then go to the Bronze Hall to appreciate the unique charm of Sanxingdui bronzes through one hall and five exhibition areas. Finally, you can go to the Restoration Hall to watch the cultural relic restoration process and advanced equipment.
Transportation
- Self-driving: Starting from Chengdu, go along National Highway 108 and Chengmian National Highway, which can be reached in about half an hour; it is also convenient to start from Deyang and go along the corresponding roads.
- High-speed rail: You can take an intercity train to Guanghan, and then transfer to a bus to the museum.
- Long-distance bus: At bus stations in surrounding cities such as Chengdu and Deyang, there are long-distance buses to Guanghan. After arriving in Guanghan, transfer to local buses or take a taxi to the museum.
Must-Visit Attractions
- Bronze God Tree: The No. I large bronze god tree is composed of a base, a tree, and a dragon, with a total height of 3.96 meters, using a variety of casting processes. The tree is divided into three layers, three branches on each layer, a total of nine branches, each branch has fruit branches with standing god birds, and there is a bronze dragon on the side of the tree. It is one of the largest bronze cultural relics, reflecting the unique spiritual beliefs of the ancient Shu people.
- Bronze Standing Figure: It has a significant position in the Sanxingdui bronze statue group and can be called a "leader" figure. The statue is embedded and cast by the segmented casting method, with a hollow body, divided into two parts: the figure and the base. The figure wears a high crown, a three-layered robe with complex patterns, hands ringed and hollow, feet wearing bracelets, standing barefoot on a square monster seat, with an overall dignified and solemn image.
- Bronze Vertical Eye Mask: It has a strange shape, with raised eyebrows, slanting eyes, columnar eyeballs protruding forward up to 16 centimeters, ears fully spread to both sides, short nose bridge, rolled-up nostrils, wide and deep mouth, like a smile. It is known as the "Thousand-mile Eye" and "Wind-Following Ear", and is a highly representative cultural relic among the Sanxingdui masks.
- "Ancient Shu Eye" in the New Hall: The design is inspired by the eye worship of the Sanxingdui culture, with a hyperbolic shape composed of two huge glass curtain walls shaped like eyes, facing the excavation area of the Sanxingdui Ruins, symbolizing a dialogue across thousands of years. It accommodates two spaces: the "Time-Space Spiral Preface Hall" and the "Circular Flow Ancient and Modern Theater".
Tour Tips
- Understand the relevant knowledge of Sanxingdui culture in advance, such as by reading books and watching documentaries, to better understand the cultural connotations behind the exhibits.
- Hire a manual guide or rent a guide machine. Manual guides can provide professional and rich knowledge explanations, and guide machines can help you deeply understand cultural relic information according to personal interests.
- Arrange at least half a day for the tour. If you want to visit carefully, it is recommended to arrange a full day to fully appreciate the cultural relics in each hall and experience the digital display projects of the new hall.
- You can carry a notebook to record interesting cultural relic information and personal insights for follow-up review.
Notes
- Touching cultural relics is prohibited in the hall. Follow the museum's "Do Not Touch" instructions to avoid damaging precious cultural relics.
- Using flash photography is prohibited. Some cultural relics are sensitive to light, and flash may accelerate the aging and fading of cultural relics.
- Keep quiet in the hall and avoid loud noise to create a good visiting environment for other visitors.
- Follow the tour route instructions of the scenic area and do not leave the team or enter closed areas at will.
- Pay attention to the safety of personal belongings, especially in crowded areas.