China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum

China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum

The China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum is located at the Tanmen Central Fishing Port in Qionghai, 9 kilometers from the Boao Forum for Asia site. Designed by Academician He Jingtang of South China University of Technology, the museum’s architecture blends modern aesthetics with Chinese cultural elements, symbolizing “riding the waves of the Silk Road, a vessel on the South China Sea.” Built along the natural terrain, the museum has a total floor area of 70,593 square meters, divided into northern and southern zones. The southern zone is the main exhibition area, featuring 8 indoor exhibition halls and an open-air outdoor exhibition corridor, as well as spaces for cultural and creative product sales, children’s interactive activities, public services, and reception—emphasizing the museum’s exhibition function. The northern zone houses 2 exhibition halls mainly used for temporary exhibitions, along with a multifunctional hall, conference rooms, reception areas, cultural and creative product sales, a visitor restaurant, and a bookstore—meeting needs for visits, tourism, conferences, and cultural leisure, and highlighting the museum’s social service functions.

The China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum currently holds over 70,000 items in its collection, including historical export artifacts, marine biological specimens from the South China Sea, historical relics from Hainan, and ship models from various dynasties. The museum is equipped with facilities such as a cultural relics conservation and restoration center, modern chemical laboratories, analytical testing rooms, precision analysis instrument rooms, underwater cultural relics conservation labs, artifact restoration rooms, and painting and calligraphy restoration rooms—providing essential support for the preservation and research of cultural relics.

Currently, the museum features permanent exhibitions such as “The Humanistic and Historical Display of the South China Sea” and “The Natural Ecology of the South China Sea,” thematic exhibitions like “Eight Hundred Years of Vigilance—Special Exhibition on the Huaguangjiao I Shipwreck of the Xisha Islands” and “Exploring the Sea, Tracing the Past—China’s Underwater Archaeology and the Conservation of Underwater Cultural Heritage in the South China Sea,” as well as temporary exhibitions such as “Exhibition on the Achievements of Friendship City Exchanges Between Hainan Province and ASEAN.” These exhibitions comprehensively showcase the human history, natural ecology, and cultural heritage protection of the South China Sea, as well as the economic and trade exchanges and cultural interactions between China and neighboring countries around the sea—promoting cultural exchange and cooperation among countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road.

Address: Museum Road, Tanmen Town, Qionghai City, Hainan Province

Postal Code: 571431

Phone: 0898 62605666

Fax: 0898 62605666

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China