Ruicheng County Museum

Ruicheng County Museum

Ruicheng County has a long history and profound cultural heritage. From the Paleolithic remains of the 1.8 million-year-old Xihoudou Site to the 600,000-year-old ?he Site, through the Neolithic Age, the Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, all the way to the Republican era, the county is home to a vast collection of cultural relics. Established in September 1984, the Ruicheng County Museum is a public institution dedicated to the collection, exhibition, research, and education of cultural relics. Since its founding, a large number of historical artifacts from the county have been collected, making its holdings among the highest in the nation. The museum currently houses 3,720 pieces/sets of various relics, including 25 pieces/sets of first-class relics, 84 pieces/sets of second-class relics, and 157 pieces/sets of third-class relics. These span nine categories: fossils, stone carvings, ceramics, pottery, bronzeware, ironware, jade artifacts, calligraphy and paintings, and miscellaneous items. In 2013, after nearly two years of intensive construction, the new Ruicheng County Museum was put into use in September.

The total construction area of the Ruicheng County Cultural and Museum Complex is 8,451.9 square meters. The museum occupies the western half of the complex, with the basement serving as the artifact storage area and the fourth floor as the office area. There are five exhibition zones, located on the first, second, and third floors, covering a total exhibition area of 2,072 square meters—728 square meters on the first floor, 616 square meters on the second floor, and 728 square meters on the third floor. The exhibitions are divided into four thematic sections: the first floor features the Art of Stone Carvings and Sculptures, titled “Carving History with Chisel and Brush”; the second floor showcases the Historical Civilization of Ruicheng, titled “Witnessing Ancient Chinese Civilization in an Ancient State”; the third floor includes the Art of Metal Artifacts and the Art of Ceramics, titled “Bronze Treasures Casting History” and “Clay and Fire Spirits Creating Splendor,” respectively, with a temporary exhibition hall in the central area of the third floor; the fourth floor is the office area.

The new museum’s exhibition project was constructed by Hebei Jin Continent Exhibition and Decoration Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 7.2896 million yuan. Construction began on May 15, 2013, and was completed on August 30. The security system was installed by Shanxi Oulong Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 1.66 million yuan. Work on the above-ground four floors was completed on August 30, 2013, and the underground floor was finished by the end of August 2014. The underground artifact storage cabinets were manufactured and installed by Jiangxi Yuanyang Company, with a total investment of 1.12 million yuan, and completed on June 10, 2014.

The high-standard completion and opening of the new Ruicheng County Museum is a major people-benefiting project of the county Party committee and government, another significant step in promoting the development of a strong cultural county, and a major event in the cultural life of the local people. It will become another highlight in the progress of Ruicheng County’s cultural development and a beautiful new calling card for the ecologically civilized new Ruicheng.

Further Reading:

· China National Third-Class Museum