Nanjing Yunjin Museum

Nanjing Yunjin Museum

The Nanjing Yunjin Museum is a patriotic education base.

The predecessor of the Nanjing Yunjin Museum was the "China Brocade Craft Exhibition Hall" and the "China Brocade Village," established in 1982. It is the only specialized museum in China dedicated to Yunjin and ethnic brocades, showcasing the most representative Yunjin pieces since the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as brocade masterpieces, physical materials, technical documentation, and recent exquisite reproductions of precious silk artifacts from various dynasties by the Nanjing Yunjin Research Institute. It is a world intangible cultural heritage museum that uniquely blends humanistic charm, ancient technological culture, and historical depth. "Nanjing Yunjin Craftsmanship" was among the first to be included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In June 2002, Nanjing Yunjin began applying to UNESCO for inclusion in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Efforts were made to implement preservation, inheritance, and promotion plans for the craft, drawing widespread public attention. On September 30, 2009, it was successfully inscribed on UNESCO’s "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," becoming a shared cultural heritage of people worldwide. The museum currently has 19 full-time guides, is open to the public free of charge 365 days a year, and offers tour services in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and French. It receives about 1 million visitors annually, including dignitaries, ethnic minority delegations, and students from schools of all levels. Since its UNESCO recognition, the number of visitors has continued to rise, and it has been designated as a science education base and a national, provincial, and municipal patriotic education base by local governments. With ample space, rich collections and literature, comprehensive facilities, and strong financial support, it ensures effective ethnic unity education.

The Yunjin Museum also collaborates with primary, secondary, and tertiary schools across the province, as well as military units, government offices, enterprises, and institutions to promote ethnic unity education. Examples include hosting specialized lectures on Yunjin at institutions such as Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University, and Donghua University. These events promote traditional culture while educating about ethnic unity, inspiring patriotic enthusiasm among students. The museum also partners with vocational schools such as China Vocational School, Pukou Vocational School, and Nanjing Light Textile Technical School to train various types of Yunjin professionals, thus combining the role of an ethnic unity education base with the preservation and inheritance of Yunjin.

The Nanjing Yunjin Museum currently has an exhibition area of 4,300 square meters, dedicated to collecting and displaying various Yunjin artworks and nearly 10,000 related items such as silk artifacts, ethnic brocades, and other materials. There are 970 pieces of professional Yunjin-related physical materials available for display (a significant portion of which are important historical relics), along with Yunjin design drafts...

...over 2,000 design drafts (including “Hanfu drafts” left by historical official weaving bureaus), and more than 8,000 volumes of specialized books. The uniqueness of the Nanjing Yunjin Museum lies in its perfect combination of living, hand-operated loom production spanning over 1,500 years with the static display of silk artifacts. The first floor features an exhibition hall for Yunjin and brocade products, as well as ethnic costume performances, where models and visitors jointly present traditional and modern ethnic attire on the catwalk. The second floor displays silk artifacts and replicas from different dynasties alongside various Yunjin masterpieces, covering the period from the Warring States era to the Ming and Qing dynasties and up to the modern day. These include both court and folk items, as well as fabric rolls and clothing. Additionally, more than ten large wooden drawlooms for Yunjin are operated dynamically by artisans. The third floor showcases weaving tools and artifacts from various Chinese ethnic groups, as well as their traditional costumes and daily items. Visitors can wear ethnic costumes and participate in interactive weaving activities on the looms. The fourth floor is dedicated to research, demonstration, promotion, and teaching of traditional Yunjin crafts such as design drafting and pattern threading.

In 2005, the Yunjin Museum underwent comprehensive renovations of its environment, storage rooms, and archives, and gradually added security facilities to improve safety conditions. To date, the Nanjing Yunjin Museum is equipped with climate control systems, security surveillance, smoke alarms, and document management systems. In 2008, the museum invested 3 million yuan to renovate and expand the third-floor ethnic brocade exhibition area, adding displays on Hangzhou brocade, Dong brocade, Yao brocade, Bouyei brocade, Mosuo brocade, and world brocades. Nearly a thousand pieces of ethnic brocades, tools, and specialty items were collected. In 2013, the first and second floors of the Yunjin Museum were upgraded with an investment of 5 million yuan, further improving facilities for promoting ethnic unity and progress education.

The Yunjin Museum currently hosts master craftsmen such as Mr. Zhu Feng, recognized as a "China Arts and Crafts Master" and one of the first national-level representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects approved by the Ministry of Culture; Mr. Xu Zhongjie, a "Jiangsu Province Arts and Crafts Master"; Mr. Zhou Shuangxi, a national-level representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage; Mr. Wu Xier, an inheritor of Jiangsu Province intangible cultural heritage; and Mr. Guo Jun, Mr. Zhang Hongbao, and Mr. Yang Yuzhu, inheritors of Nanjing intangible cultural heritage. The Nanjing Yunjin Museum has formed a team of inheritors with a good mix of experienced veterans, mid-career professionals, and young talents, all possessing strong archaeological, research, and exhibition capabilities. The Yunjin Research Institute Co., Ltd. invests funds annually to ensure the normal operation of ethnic unity education activities.

The Nanjing Yunjin Museum maintains comprehensive archives and sound regulations, such as the "Museum Management Regulations," "Routine Work Arrangements," "Management Function Positions," "Employee Disciplinary Measures," "Museum Service Fee Standards," and "Museum Exhibition Loan Policies." These clarify daily workflows, management responsibilities, define violation categories and penalty standards, and enhance team cohesion, compliance, management cooperation, and work quality.

The museum’s exhibitions of historical silk artifacts and materials, spanning from the Warring States period to the present, reflect the close relationships among China’s various ethnic groups throughout different eras. They help promote the Party and state’s ethnic theories, policies, laws, and knowledge about unity and mutual assistance, contributing to the maintenance of ethnic harmony and national unity. The museum’s independent exhibition halls and plaza also serve as venues for ethnic unity education, effectively fulfilling the exemplary role of a "National Patriotic Education Base" and making great contributions to ethnic culture promotion.

Address: No. 240, Chating East Street, Jianye District, Nanjing

Type: Museum

Recommended visiting time: 1–2 hours

Phone: 025-86605778; 025-86630749; 025-86528055

Official website: http://www.njyunjin.com/

Opening hours:

9:00-17:00

Ticket information:

Free admission.

Further reading:

· China National Third-Class Museum