China National Music Museum

China National Music Museum

The China National Music Museum was jointly established by the Wuxi Municipal People's Government, the China Conservatory of Music, and the Chinese National Academy of Arts, with construction undertaken by Wuxi Daily Press Group. The total investment amounted to 30 million yuan. Located within Wuxi’s Canal Park, the museum covers a floor area of nearly 4,000 square meters and integrates functions such as exhibition, collection, research, and performance.

The exhibitions are divided into five major sections. The first section, “Ancient Echoes,” introduces important musical phenomena from various periods of ancient Chinese music in chronological order through the display of significant musical artifacts. The second section, “Beauty of Taihu,” showcases modern and primarily local Wuxi folk music, including Jiangnan sizhu, Wuxi folk songs, Taoist music, and Wuxi storytelling. The third section, “Masters of Folk Music,” features introductions to notable musicians from Wuxi, including nearly 30 renowned modern composers and performers known both domestically and internationally, such as Abing, Liu Tianhua, Yang Yinliu, Wang Xin, and Qian Renkang. The fourth section, “Millennial Melodies of the Nation,” presents UNESCO-listed intangible cultural heritage items related to Chinese music and opera, covering Kunqu Opera, guqin art, the Art of the Muqam, Dong ethnic grand songs, and Xi’an drum music. The fifth section is an exhibition of Chinese ethnic musical instruments.

Currently, the museum houses a total of 574 sets and 969 individual pieces of exhibits, including 174 types and 468 pieces of musical instruments. It also features a wealth of books, manuscripts, audiovisual materials, photographs, and dioramas. With rich content and diverse formats, the museum broadly reflects the development history of Chinese folk music and is currently the only comprehensive national music museum in China.