Dongguan Museum

Dongguan Museum

Dongguan Museum is a patriotic education base.

Dongguan Museum is the only local comprehensive museum at the municipal level in Dongguan and a national second-grade museum, under the administration of the Dongguan Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication. Its predecessor was the Dongguan County Museum and Library, completed in 1929, located in Dongguan People's Park. In 1959, the county government allocated funds for a major renovation of the old museum and established the Dongguan County Museum. In 1994, the new building of Dongguan Museum was completed and opened to the public on Keshu Bo Square, Xinwen Road, Guancheng. The new museum covers an area of 2,700 square meters, with a construction area of 5,800 square meters and an exhibition area of 3,300 square meters.

The public areas of Dongguan Museum include the permanent exhibition area, thematic exhibition area, and temporary exhibition area. The first floor is the temporary exhibition area; the second floor is the thematic exhibition area, where collections from the museum or various high-quality exhibitions are regularly displayed; the third floor features the permanent exhibition "Ancient Dongguan," which recreates five thousand years of civilization and long history in Dongguan, serving as an important base for patriotic and local cultural education. It is currently open to the public free of charge year-round (closed on Mondays).

The museum has six functional departments: the Office, Conservation Department, Exhibition Department, Local History Research Office, Archaeological Excavation Department, and the Management Office of Jin’aizhou Pagoda. It is also responsible for the management and protection of the Jin’aizhou Pagoda, a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit in Guangdong Province.

The museum currently houses 9,542 pieces (sets) of collections, including 18 pieces (sets) of first-grade relics, 85 pieces (sets) of second-grade relics, and 977 pieces (sets) of third-grade relics. Among them, it is particularly known for its collection of works by famous painters and schools from Guangdong during the Ming and Qing dynasties and modern times, such as Ju Lian, Ju Chao, the Lingnan School of Painting, and the Chinese Painting Research Society. The collections include both underground relics excavated archaeologically and aboveground relics acquired through donations, such as the large bronze bell from Zifu Temple in the Yuan Dynasty and the Southern Han Elephant-Taming Pagoda, as well as precious relics donated by the Palace Museum. The painting and calligraphy collections are especially extensive, featuring works by notable artists and schools such as Zhang Mu, Ju Lian, Ju Chao, Deng Bai, Lu Zishu, and the Lingnan School of Painting.

The research work of Dongguan Museum mainly focuses on museology, collections, local historical events, and figures. The museum has published over 10 series of publications. In collaboration with Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, it successfully applied ancient corpse bio-plastination technology; in cooperation with the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, it conducted research on artifacts unearthed from the Cuntou site. The “Artifacts Appreciation Lecture Series” has become a signature event during the annual International Museum Day and China Cultural Heritage Day in Dongguan.

In May 2009, Dongguan Museum was rated as a national second-grade museum. It is recognized as the “Dongguan Patriotic Education Base” and the “Dongguan Museum and Tourism Co-construction Unit.” In 2004, Jin’aizhou Pagoda was named one of the “Eight Scenic Spots of Dongguan Cultural Relics.”

Museum opening hours: 9:00–17:30 (last entry at 17:15), closed on Mondays (except national statutory holidays and New Year’s Eve)

Address: No. 36, Xinwen Road, Guancheng District, Dongguan City (within Keshu Bo Square)

Bus route 1: Take bus routes 1 (air-conditioned), 1, 8, 15, 16, 18, 21, 28, 29, C3, or LG1 to Renmin Park Station, then walk 50 meters north to arrive

Bus route 2: Take bus routes 9 (air-conditioned), 18, 29, 30, or C3 to Dongguan Hotel Station, then walk 200 meters south (toward Xinhua Bookstore) to arrive

Guancheng Subdistrict: Covering an area of 13.5 square kilometers with a population of 152,000 people, Guancheng has a history of nearly 1,250 years dating back to the second year of the Deyi era in the Tang Dynasty. As the political, economic, and cultural center of Dongguan for over twelve hundred years, the area around Qifeng and Guanshui has accumulated profound historical and cultural heritage. With a long-standing cultural legacy, Guancheng is one of the birthplaces of Lingnan culture and has developed its own distinctive cultural characteristics.

Guancheng is a microcosm of Dongguan’s history and culture, exuding a rich humanistic atmosphere and embodying the unique spirit and soul of the area. In Guancheng, you can find the reliquary stupa of Zifu Temple from the Song Dynasty, the West City Tower from the Ming Dynasty, and sites that bear witness... More details about Guancheng Subdistrict ++

Further reading:

· China National Second-Grade Museum