Changzhi Museum

Changzhi Museum

Changzhi Museum is located on Taihang West Street in Changzhi City. Construction of the new museum began in September 1990 and was completed in October 1992. It covers an area of 13,340 square meters, with a building area of 8,200 square meters. The name of the museum was inscribed by Mr. Zhao Puchu, then President of the Buddhist Association of China.

The museum faces south and is divided into office buildings, cultural relics exhibition buildings, ancient tomb exhibition halls, and more. The roof of the cultural relics exhibition building is umbrella-shaped and features a replica of a bronze chariot and horse from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, measuring 6 meters in length, 2.5 meters in height, and weighing 7.5 tons. This serves as the museum’s iconic display. The museum houses a collection of over 60,000 cultural relics, including bronzeware, ceramics, jade artifacts, calligraphy and paintings, stone carvings, gold and silverware, among other categories. Among these, there are more than 1,200 precious relics. Relics from the museum have been selected to participate in exhibitions abroad in countries such as Italy, the United States, and Japan. The collection is particularly notable for Ming and Qing dynasty colored glaze artifacts unearthed in the Shangdang region, bronze ware from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods excavated at the Changzhi Fenshuiling site, and Song and Jin dynasty ceramics from the Northern Cizhou Kiln system, all of which reflect strong regional characteristics.

The museum has a total of six exhibition halls, covering an area of 5,200 square meters. These include the permanent exhibition “Shangdang Has Always Been the Ridge of the World – The Ancient Civilization of Changzhi,” which is divided into five sections: stone tools, jade artifacts, bronzeware, pottery, and porcelain. It displays 320 cultural relics ranging from the Paleolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty. The thematic exhibition “Ancient Tombs of Changzhi Through the Ages” features two tomb exhibition halls showcasing 14 relocated and restored ancient tombs from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, along with their burial objects. There is also an exhibition of “Warring States Chariot and Horse Pits” displayed as they were originally unearthed. In addition, the museum has hosted over 40 large-scale exhibitions, including the “Exhibition of Fine Historical Relics from the Changzhi Region” and the “Exhibition of Calligraphy and Paintings by Famous Figures from the Shangdang Region.”

The museum has 11 departments, including the office, archaeology department, cultural relics research office, public engagement department, exhibition department, and ancient architecture department. It also oversees three affiliated units: the Chenghuang Temple Cultural Relics Management Office, the Yan Emperor Memorial Hall, and the Guanyin Hall Cultural Relics Management Office. Since its establishment, the museum has published works such as Historical Figures of Shangdang, Chronicles of Changzhi Cultural Relics, General Catalogue of Stone Carvings in Shanxi • Changzhi Volume, and The Light of Shangdang Civilization. It has also published over 80 research papers and artworks in national-level newspapers and journals, as well as over 50 articles and works in provincial-level publications. In 1995, it was designated as a Provincial Patriotic Education Base by the provincial Party committee and government.

Location: No. 259, Taihang West Street, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China