Chengdu Huazhen Tibetan-Qiang Cultural Museum

Chengdu Huazhen Tibetan-Qiang Cultural Museum

Chengdu Huazhen Tibetan-Qiang Cultural Museum is a privately-run museum with strong ethnic cultural characteristics, integrating the collection and exhibition of Tibetan and Qiang cultural artifacts with the living heritage transmission of Tibetan-Qiang weaving and embroidery intangible cultural heritage. After evaluation, application, and approval by the cultural and civil affairs departments of Sichuan Province and Chengdu City, it was officially established in Wenshu Fang, Qingyang District, in August 2012.

Since its establishment, with the care and support of the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, the Municipal Bureau of Culture, the Finance Bureau, and other departments, the museum has adhered to the mission of protecting, rescuing, inheriting, promoting, and developing traditional Tibetan and Qiang folk handicraft culture. It combines static cultural relic exhibitions with dynamic heritage performances, striving to showcase Tibetan and Qiang culture while carrying out productive preservation of two national intangible cultural heritages: Tibetan woven embroidery and Qiang embroidery. Through partnerships with the Chengdu Jinsha Museum and its own efforts, the museum has made significant progress in exhibition layout, collection archiving, and guide training. It not only provides a window to showcase Tibetan and Qiang culture but also transforms elements of Tibetan and Qiang intangible cultural heritage into various products through creativity, design, training, production, and sales, generating certain economic benefits. This promotes income growth among Chengdu women and ensures the protection and inheritance of Tibetan and Qiang culture through practical production, achieving a positive interaction between cultural preservation and socio-economic development.

Currently, the museum has established various preservation institutions such as a Design and Creative Studio for Tibetan-Qiang Cultural Elements, the Qiang Embroidery Branch of the Chengdu Intangible Cultural Heritage Association, and a Graduate Entrepreneurship and Internship Base for Sichuan University. These have nurtured broad market prospects. Under these efforts, artworks designed and produced by the museum have won numerous awards at domestic and international exhibitions. Over 3,000 women in Qingyang District, Longquan, and Qionglai in Chengdu have received free training, enabling some women and people with disabilities to achieve “work-from-home” opportunities. Training classes have also been set up with Wenchuan Qiang immigrants in Nanbao Mountain Town, Qionglai. The museum is also widely welcomed in external cultural exchanges and has represented Chengdu’s intangible cultural heritage in cultural exchange activities in Europe and America in recent years, including the 2015 “Chengdu • Chinese New Year – Annecy Activity Week in France” and the “Chinese Folk Artists Tour in the United States.” We emphasize exchanges and cooperation with domestic and international universities, having given lectures and engaged in dialogue at world-renowned institutions such as New York University, Columbia University, Northeastern University, Yale University, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge in the UK. We have also established long-term cooperation mechanisms with the “Chinese Student Associations” at these schools, using cultural research, creative design, and brand marketing to inspire overseas students to carry forward their traditional culture. In particular, we have received guidance from Hong Kong Polytechnic University academician Yuan Wenjun as the museum’s brand consultant, fostering collaborations with international brands and celebrities to reinterpret traditional beauty in modern ways. For example, we designed two deeply symbolic Qiang embroidery patterns for the limited edition cleansing oil of Shu Uemura, a cosmetic brand under L’Oréal France. Collaborations with the lead singer of the band Mayday (Ashin), Taiwanese artist and designer No2good, and the Hong Kong hair brand Hair Corner have integrated Tibetan-Qiang cultural elements into fashion design and brand promotion, allowing young people to view traditional Tibetan-Qiang culture from a new perspective—imbuing it with both ancient history and modern fashion.

The museum currently houses a total of 2,587 collections, including various types of woven embroidery artifacts, ancient books and classics, clothing accessories, various Buddha statues, and handicraft art pieces. Among the woven embroidery collections, many possess high artistic and academic value. These include Qing Dynasty artifacts such as “Heaven and Earth Auspiciousness” and “Prosperous Peony,” as well as modern large-scale embroidered thangkas such as “Shakyamuni Preaching,” “Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva,” “Five Wisdom Tathagatas,” and exquisitely crafted embroidery artworks in various materials.

Address: Hall 3, Qiong Kiln Site Park, Group 7, Shifang Village, Lincong Town, Qionglai City

Phone: 13018270919

Hours: Monday–Saturday: 9:00–17:00

Transportation: 1. Chengwen-Qionglai Expressway — Exit at “Qionglai West” on the Chengwen-Qionglai Expressway — turn right at the first traffic light after exiting the highway — go forward 500 meters — turn left at the “Qiong Kiln Site Park” sign to enter the parking lot 2. Bus route: From Qionglai Bus Station, take Bus 3 to Hengda Hotel Station, cross the street, and walk 500 meters along the river to reach the site park 3. Navigate to “Qiong Kiln Site Park”