China Record Museum

China Record Museum

The China Record Museum (CRM) is a national comprehensive theme museum dedicated to records. Located in the Huang Rongyuan Hall, one of the ten most luxurious mansions on Gulangyu Island, it aims to create a venue for the systematic preservation, exhibition, research, and sharing of historical documents and archives related to vintage records, filling a long-standing gap in China’s lack of an “audio archive of the Chinese nation’s sonic heritage.” Featuring century-old original sound recordings that have been out of print for a hundred years, it showcases the illustrious origins and understated presence of “China’s Finest Voices.” For nearly half a century, the Huang Rongyuan Hall has remained largely closed to the public. Now, after five decades, this century-old building and century-old records are reunited once again—seemingly a testament to the inseparable bond between this national treasure of architecture and music.

Revitalized by music, the Huang Rongyuan Hall extends a sincere invitation to experience the eternal charm of Gulangyu as the “Island of Music.” Stepping into the China Record Museum, visitors can listen to many precious historical sounds: the first human-recorded sound—Thomas Edison humming “Mary Had a Little Lamb”; Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s only recorded speech in his lifetime, “Exhortation to the Nation”; the only collaborative album by the “Four Great Dan,” titled “Si Wu Hua Dong”; the only known recording from the legendary “Queen of Silent Film,” Ruan Lingyu, “Lyrics of Searching for My Brother Across Ten Thousand Miles”; the Mandarin promotion record “National Language Gramophone Disc” by Zhao Yuanren, a linguistic genius of the Republican era; the stirring “March of the Volunteers” and the first record of New China, “The Sky Over the Liberated Areas.” In addition, the museum houses numerous treasures of high academic and collectible value, including the only recorded performance of the “King of Bianzhong,” the Zenghouyi Chime Bells, titled “Echoes Through the Ages”; the 1935 first pressing master disc of “March of the Volunteers” by EMI Oriental, along with various versions of the anthem from different periods, countries, and regions; the 1908 first record of Xiamen Imperial Court Music (Nanyin) recorded on Gulangyu; the first stereophonic large-groove record “Blood-Stained Handprint,” which ushered in a new era of stereo music in China; as well as the first magnetic tape, the first CD, and the first glass CD of New China from different eras. In addition to record displays, the China Record Museum also houses a collection of vintage gramophones from around the world, featuring various models and brands, as well as a variety of rare paper documents. Many of these materials are being shown to the public for the first time, such as handwritten letters, royalty statements, and creative manuscripts from Republican-era celebrities like Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang, Hu Die, Zhao Yuanren, and Li Jinhui.

Address: No. 32 Fujian Road, Gulangyu, Siming District, Xiamen

Opening Hours:

9:00-17:30

Ticket:

78 RMB