Nanxun Town History Museum

Nanxun Town History Museum

The predecessor of the Nanxun Town History Museum was the Nanxun Chamber of Commerce, which was first built in 1926. It is a three-courtyard building that blends Chinese and Western architectural styles, covering an area of 950 square meters, with a total construction cost of over 30,000 taels of silver. It was one of the earliest chambers of commerce in the Jiangnan region. In October 1998, it was converted into the Nanxun Town History Museum.

In the first half of 2008, after renovation, its content was adjusted to include exhibition halls such as those on Jili Lake Silk, the Four Elephants and Eight Bulls, calligraphy by master artists, Jiangnan silk and bamboo music, and celebrity study rooms.

Jili Lake Silk Hall: This hall mainly showcases the Jili Lake Silk culture, which the people of Nanxun take great pride in. The museum displays various models related to silk, including the gold medal won at the 1915 Panama Exposition, old photos of the Qianshanyang site, and antique silk-reeling machines. A vivid set of clay figurines depicts the entire process from mulberry picking and silkworm breeding to silk reeling, trading, and winning awards, bringing to life the prosperity of Nanxun’s Jili silk over a hundred years ago.

Four Elephants and Eight Bulls Corridor: This corridor showcases a group of the most outstanding merchants in Nanxun who made their fortunes through silk and ultimately had a profound impact on the economy, culture, art, and politics of the entire East China region and even China.

“Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy Masters Write About Nanxun”: This exhibition hall displays the affection numerous contemporary calligraphy masters have for Nanxun. Using the renowned “Hu Brush,” the king of writing instruments, they have painted an alternative view of Nanxun’s charm.

Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Music Hall: Composed of a performance hall and an instrument exhibition hall. The performance hall features moving Jiangnan silk and bamboo music played by art performance students who graduated from undergraduate programs at Huzhou Normal University. The instrument exhibition hall displays a variety of musical instruments used in Jiangnan silk and bamboo music, among which the most representative is the world’s oldest surviving five-stringed pipa, the “Tang Dynasty Zhenzangyuan Five-String Pipa (replica).”

Celebrity Study Room: Showcases various books compiled by many Nanxun literati and scholars with deep affection for Nanxun. These books reflect their deep attachment to Nanxun and also demonstrate the cultural heritage of Nanxun as a historical and cultural ancient town.

Nanxun Town: Nanxun is an economically developed and culturally prosperous ancient town in the Jiangnan region. Its geographical coordinates are located between 120°25’–120°26’ east longitude and 30°52’–30°53’20” north latitude. It lies on the shore of Taihu Lake, borders Suzhou, and serves as the eastern gateway for Huzhou to connect with Shanghai’s Pudong area. The Chang-Hu-Shen waterway and National Highway 318 run through the town, giving it a superior geographical environment and convenient water and land transportation. The town covers a total area of 141.3 square kilometers, governs 51 administrative villages and 10 residential communities, with a total population of 116,000 and cultivated land area of 122,500 mu. 2000... Detailed information about Nanxun Town++