Hebei Museum

Hebei Museum

Hebei Museum is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Hebei Province, as well as a base for science education and patriotic education.

Hebei Museum is a provincial comprehensive museum in Hebei Province, a national patriotic education demonstration base, and a national first-class museum.

Hebei Museum was formed by integrating the former Hebei Provincial Museum, Hebei Provincial Folk Museum, Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Export Appraisal Center, and Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Exchange Center. The Hebei Provincial Museum was established in April 1953, with its initial location set at the Scripture Depository in the ancient Lotus Pond complex in Baoding, which was then the provincial capital of Hebei. In 1982, the museum moved to Shijiazhuang, the current provincial capital, and temporarily operated and held exhibitions in the Hebei Exhibition Hall. In 1986, the Hebei Exhibition Hall and the Hebei Provincial Museum were merged and reconstructed into the Hebei Provincial Museum, which officially opened the following year. In 2006, the Hebei Provincial Museum began an expansion and renovation project. On June 8, 2013, the new building of the Hebei Provincial Museum started trial operations. On June 9, 2014, Hebei Museum was officially inaugurated and opened to the public. In 2015, the integration and establishment of Hebei Museum were completed.

Hebei Museum consists of three parts: the main museum area, Jianhua area, and Yucai area. The main museum area is located in the Cultural Square of Shijiazhuang, with buildings divided into northern and southern zones. The northern zone was built in 1968 and originally served as the "Victory of Mao Zedong Thought Exhibition Hall." Its architecture features colonnades reminiscent of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with a total floor area of 20,028 square meters. The architectural style reflects distinct characteristics of its time and was designated as a Hebei Provincial Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit by the Hebei Provincial People's Government in 2001.

The southern zone is a newly constructed area, with a total floor area of 33,100 square meters. The combined exhibition space of the southern and northern zones exceeds 21,000 square meters. The new structure is surrounded by tall colonnades that echo the architectural style and primary color scheme of the northern buildings.

The architecture is majestic and magnificent, harmonious and unified, making it a landmark cultural site in Shijiazhuang. The Jianhua area and Yucai area serve as storage facilities for the museum’s cultural relics. The Jianhua area is located on Jianhua South Street in Shijiazhuang, with a construction area of 5,180 square meters, while the Yucai area is situated on Yucai Street in Shijiazhuang, covering 4,735 square meters.

Hebei Museum currently houses a total of 240,000 artifacts, including 340 first-grade relics (pieces/sets), 1,926 second-grade relics (pieces/sets), and 17,383 third-grade relics (pieces/sets). In addition, the museum has a collection of over 50,000 books, many of which are fine editions from the Ming and Qing dynasties, making it one of the primary repositories of local chronicles in Hebei Province.

Leveraging the strengths of cultural relic collections from provincial-level heritage institutions, Hebei Museum highlights the most fascinating chapters of Hebei’s history through its new basic exhibition system, featuring nine permanent displays: "Hebei in the Stone Age," "Shang Dynasty Civilization in Hebei," "Heroic Ballads – Tales of Yan and Zhao," "Martial Splendor of the Warring States – Ancient Zhongshan State," "The Grand Finale of the Han – Mancheng Han Tombs," "Quyang Stone Carvings," "Murals of the Northern Dynasties," "Famous Kilns and Fine Porcelains," and "Flames of Resistance – Heroic Hebei."

The exhibitions display over 5,000 artifacts, with highlights including relics unearthed from the Mancheng Han Tombs, artifacts from the Warring States Zhongshan sites, ceramics from the Four Famous Ancient Kilns of Hebei, Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain, Buddhist stone carvings, and relics from the Anti-Japanese War period. These collections record 2 million years of continuous human development in Hebei. Hebei Museum also hosts multiple temporary exhibitions each year on contemporary culture and art, social hot topics, domestic and international cultural relic exchanges, and other themes, greatly enriching the cultural life of its visitors.

Over the past 60 years, Hebei Museum has made significant contributions to the collection, preservation, research, exhibition, public education, and international exchanges of cultural relics. The new Hebei Museum, with its profound historical and cultural heritage, modern exhibition techniques, clean and comfortable visiting environment, greets visitors with a brand-new look.

Hebei Museum has a total floor area of 53,128 square meters and an exhibition area of over 22,000 square meters, divided into northern and southern zones. The northern zone was built in 1968 and originally served as the "Victory of Mao Zedong Thought Exhibition Hall," featuring colonnades modeled after the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with a total floor area of 20,028 square meters. The southern zone is a newly constructed area, with a total floor area of 33,100 square meters and a total investment of 628 million yuan. The new structure is surrounded by tall colonnades that echo the architectural style and primary color scheme of the northern buildings.

Functionally, the southern zone primarily hosts basic exhibition areas, focusing on showcasing the ancient civilization of Hebei. The northern zone (old exhibition hall), apart from the "A Century in Review – Modern Hebei" exhibition, is dedicated to temporary exhibitions, primarily featuring contemporary culture and art, social hot topics, domestic and international cultural relic exchanges, and various other temporary exhibitions. The sunlit atrium connecting the north and south zones serves as a leisure and service area for visitors.

Hebei Museum features nine permanent exhibitions: "Hebei in the Stone Age," "Shang Dynasty Civilization in Hebei," "Heroic Ballads – Tales of Yan and Zhao," "Martial Splendor of the Warring States – Ancient Zhongshan State," "The Grand Finale of the Han – Mancheng Han Tombs," "A Century in Review – Modern Hebei," "Murals of the Northern Dynasties," "Quyang Stone Carvings," and "Famous Kilns and Fine Porcelains."

The museum’s journal, Cultural Relics and Spring & Autumn, has won the Excellent Journal Award of Hebei Social Science Journals in the second, third, and fifth editions. In 1992, it received the Standardized Character Usage Award jointly issued by the Hebei Language Work Committee and the Hebei Press and Publication Bureau. From 2000 to 2001, it was awarded the Excellent Editing and Proofreading Quality Prize for Hebei Journals.

In 2001, Hebei Museum was designated as a Hebei Provincial Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit by the Hebei Provincial People's Government. It was also listed as one of the second batch of “100 Patriotic Education Demonstration Bases” by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

In February 2015, it was honored with the title of “Fourth National Civilized Unit” awarded by the Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization.

On May 18, 2018, Hebei Museum was awarded the title of “2018 Most Innovative Museum in China.”

On February 18, 2020, Hebei Museum was recognized as one of the “First Batch of Hebei Provincial Science Popularization Demonstration Bases.”

Free admission is available upon collecting tickets on-site at the ticket offices at the South or North Gates with valid identification, including: student ID, military ID, passport, or household registration book. For group visits, please call to make a reservation.

Opening Hours:

Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00–17:00 (last entry at 16:00), closed on Mondays.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Heritage Conservation Units

· National First-Class Museum of China