Xiamen Museum is located at No. 95 Tiyu Road, Siming District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, inside Xiamen Culture and Art Center. It is a national second-class museum and national 3A-level tourist attraction, as well as a comprehensive local museum integrating cultural relic collection, preservation, research, exhibition and education. Featuring Minnan regional culture, overseas Chinese history, cross-strait relations and urban development of Xiamen, the museum boasts abundant cultural relics and fully displays the historical context and cultural heritage of Xiamen and Minnan area. Adopting a modern architectural style, the museum has a total construction area of 25,300 square meters, an exhibition area of about 10,000 square meters, a cultural relic warehouse area of 2,000 square meters, and a total land area of about 15,000 square meters. With a neat layout combining practicality and cultural aesthetics, it serves as an important cultural landmark and popular science education base in Xiamen.
Historical Culture
Founded in 1959, Xiamen Museum was originally located at Bagua Building on Gulangyu Island and is one of the earliest established municipal comprehensive museums in Fujian Province. In the early stage of its establishment, it focused on collecting and protecting historical cultural relics of Minnan region and Xiamen, gradually accumulating a large number of cultural relics related to ceramics, calligraphy and painting, folk customs and overseas Chinese, laying a foundation for subsequent exhibitions. In 2006, Xiamen Museum moved to the new venue at Xiamen Culture and Art Center in Siming District. With fully upgraded facilities and a more complete exhibition system, it officially opened to the public.
As a core display carrier of Minnan culture, Xiamen Museum records the complete development process of Xiamen from an ancient coastal defense town and trading port to a special economic zone. It deeply interprets the close geographical, blood, cultural, business and legal ties between Fujian and Taiwan, and systematically presents characteristic cultures including Minnan folk customs, overseas Chinese entrepreneurship and Minnan architectural art. The museum collects nearly 20,000 pieces/sets of cultural relics in total, among which more than 1,500 pieces/sets are precious cultural relics, covering categories such as ceramics, calligraphy and painting, jade articles, folk cultural relics and modern cultural relics. Featured with Minnan folk relics, cross-strait exchange relics and Xiamen trade relics, it is an important physical material for the research of Minnan culture, cross-strait relations and overseas Chinese history.
Xiamen Museum has successively been awarded the titles of National Popular Science Education Base, Fujian Patriotic Education Base and Xiamen Civilized Unit. It regularly holds public welfare exhibitions, cultural lectures, cultural relic restoration experiences and research and study education activities, acting as an important public cultural platform for inheriting Minnan culture, connecting cross-strait emotions and popularizing historical knowledge.
Main Attractions
Xiamen History Exhibition Hall
As the core permanent exhibition hall of Xiamen Museum, Xiamen History Exhibition Hall is on the first floor of the venue with an area of about 2,000 square meters. Following the timeline, it is divided into five exhibition areas: Prehistoric Civilization, Establishment of Administrative System in Tang and Song Dynasties, Coastal Defense in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Modern Trade and Contemporary Development. Through cultural relics, pictures, scene restoration and multimedia demonstration, it fully shows the development process of Xiamen from the Neolithic Age to the establishment of the special economic zone, displaying more than 300 cultural relics including precious exhibits such as Ming and Qing coastal defense weapons, trade contracts and restored models of old Xiamen streets.
Fujian-Taiwan Folk Custom Exhibition Hall
Located on the second floor of the venue and covering an area of about 1,800 square meters, Fujian-Taiwan Folk Custom Exhibition Hall focuses on the shared folk culture of Fujian and Taiwan. It displays Minnan wedding customs, festivals, catering, residential architecture, opera, handicrafts and other folk contents, restoring the folk life scenes of Fujian and Taiwan. More than 400 folk cultural relics are on display, including traditional wedding utensils, Minnan puppets, festival costumes and ancient farm tools, vividly showing the root-connected characteristics of Fujian-Taiwan folk customs.
Grand View of Fujian-Taiwan Ancient Stone Carvings
It consists of two exhibition areas: Stone Carving Corridor and Stone Carving Square. The indoor Stone Carving Corridor is divided into three parts by function: architectural stone carvings, religious belief and ancestor worship. The outdoor Stone Carving Square displays exhibits in the form of garden landscape themed as farm courtyards according to their connotations.
Precious Collection Exhibition
It gathers the most artistically valuable cultural treasures of Xiamen Museum with distinctive Minnan cultural features and typical Chinese historical and cultural styles. Classified by texture and category, the exhibition includes themes of Potteries and Wares, Elegant Jade, Fragrant Calligraphy and Painting, Golden and Silver Ornaments, and Lacquer Thread Sculpture Works by Cai Shuikuang, a master of Chinese arts and crafts, displaying 216 pieces/sets of precious cultural relics.
Temporary Exhibition Hall
Situated on the third floor of the venue with a total area of about 3,500 square meters, the Temporary Exhibition Hall has two independent exhibition rooms. It regularly holds cultural relic exchange exhibitions, themed cultural exhibitions, art exhibitions and popular science exhibitions at home and abroad with updated contents, serving as an important area for expanding cultural vision and enriching exhibition contents.
Tour Route
Museum Entrance → Xiamen History Exhibition Hall → Precious Collection Exhibition → Fujian-Taiwan Folk Custom Exhibition Hall → Grand View of Fujian-Taiwan Ancient Stone Carvings → Temporary Exhibition Hall → Cultural and Creative Store → Museum Exit
Tour Suggestions
- It is recommended to spend 1.5 to 2 hours to visit all permanent exhibition halls and have an in-depth understanding of Xiamen history and Minnan culture
- Visitors can collect free museum guide brochures at the service desk to get the introduction of hall distribution and key cultural relics
- Prioritize visiting Xiamen History Exhibition Hall and Fujian-Taiwan Folk Custom Exhibition Hall, which are the core featured exhibition halls with the most representative cultural relics and displays
- Tourists with children can participate in free research and study interactive projects in the museum to enhance the fun and educational significance of the visit
- Reserve 10 minutes to visit the cultural and creative store and purchase characteristic cultural and creative products themed on Minnan culture and cross-strait culture
- It is recommended to visit on workdays with fewer crowds for a better experience; avoid the peak passenger flow from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekends and holidays
Notes
- Touching cultural relics, display cabinets and exhibits is prohibited in exhibition halls; flash photography is not allowed, and photography is forbidden for some special exhibits
- Food, drinks, flammable and explosive items, controlled knives and other dangerous goods are prohibited from entering the museum
- Keep quiet during the visit; loud noise, running and chasing are not allowed, please visit politely
- Smoking, spitting and littering are forbidden in the museum; please take good care of public facilities
- Minors must be accompanied by adults to avoid getting lost or touching exhibits
- Selfie sticks, tripods and other shooting equipment are not allowed inside the museum; please follow the guidance of staff
- The rules of temporary exhibition areas are subject to on-site announcements; visitors shall abide by the corresponding visiting regulations
Transportation
- Bus: Take bus No.8, 9, 13, 15, 20, 25, 31, 86, 88 or 97 to Culture and Art Center Station, then walk 200 meters to arrive
- Metro: Take Metro Line 2 to Yuxiu East Road Station, exit from Gate 4 and walk 800 meters to reach the museum
- Self-driving: Navigate to the parking lot of Xiamen Culture and Art Center, which is open to the public
- Taxi/Online Car-hailing: Locate Xiamen Museum at No.95 Tiyu Road directly, and arrive at the venue entrance after getting off
Opening Hours
The museum opens to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, opening from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and stops admission at 4:30 p.m. It closes every Monday for maintenance. It opens normally on legal holidays, and any special adjustment of opening hours shall be subject to official announcements.
Ticket
Admission is free. Additional fees are required for manual guided tours. You can search for the official WeChat service account "厦门市博物馆" to get the latest updates.
Online Booking
Click here to jump to the Trip.com ticketing platform for ticket purchase.