Museum at the Site of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties

Museum at the Site of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties

The Museum at the Site of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a patriotic education base.

The Museum at the Site of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties is located on Dazhigu Middle Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, covering an area of 5,800 square meters with a construction area of over 3,000 square meters. The central part of the main building features the foundation of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods, surrounded by two levels of exhibition halls. With the theme “Melody of the Sea,” the exhibitions display over 200 unearthed cultural relics, as well as restored models of ships, buildings, and other items related to maritime and Mazu culture, along with 300 images, offering insights into ancient maritime activities, the origins of Tianjin, the Mazu cultural phenomenon, and the excavation of the site.

In front of the museum stands a columnar statue. The column symbolizes a mast, clad in stone, with bas-relief carvings depicting maritime patterns from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties from bottom to top. At the top of the column stands a statue of Mazu, portrayed as a young folk maiden gently holding her hands to her chest, gazing into the distance, with ribbons on her robe fluttering in the wind, as if hoping for the safe return of sailors and the early reunification of the motherland.

After the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Dadu (present-day Beijing), to solve the food supply issue for the capital, a canal transport route was opened from the southeastern coast to Zhigu. Grain and other supplies from the southeast coast were continuously transported to Dadu. To ensure the safety of maritime navigation, the Yuan government built the Tianfei Lingci Palace in Dazhigu during the Zhiyuan era of Emperor Shizu (1281–1284 AD). This is the earliest Mazu temple in northern China. It is known as one of China’s three great Mazu temples, alongside the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Fujian, and the Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Taiwan.

From December 1998 to January 1999, the Tianjin archaeological team excavated the foundations of Yuan Dynasty architecture and the main hall foundations of the Ming and Qing Tianfei Palaces at the site, unearthing a large number of architectural components and daily-use items from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods. In September 2000, a national expert panel from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage conducted an appraisal of the site, confirming that Dazhigu is the birthplace of Tianjin as a historic and cultural city, and that the Tianfei Palace is the iconic site of this origin—being the only extremely valuable historical remnant in Tianjin’s history. To protect this important historical heritage, the Tianjin municipal government decided to establish the Museum at the Site of the Tianfei Palace from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties on the original site.

Further Reading:

·National Second-Class Museum of China

·Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units