Museum of Lingnan Pioneers

Museum of Lingnan Pioneers

The Museum of Lingnan Pioneers is located on the west side of Wuxian Temple Square, Huifu West Road, Guangzhou. It is positioned as a “grand garden showcasing the history and culture of Guangzhou, an important patriotic education base, and a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.” The land area for the first phase of construction is 10,268.59 square meters, with a total building area of 8,430 square meters, including 1,700 square meters above ground and 6,730 square meters underground, of which the main building covers 6,430 square meters.

The construction of the main building of the Museum of Lingnan Pioneers strives to reflect the rich architectural features of Lingnan to the greatest extent, achieving integration and harmony with the historical architectural style of Wuxian Temple, complementing each other beautifully. Once completed, the museum will form a complete historical and cultural tourism route together with the Six Banyan Temple — Huaisheng Mosque — Wuxian Temple and Museum of Lingnan Pioneers — Haopan Street Mosque — Sacred Heart Cathedral, and through economies of scale, it will drive the development of surrounding demands in dining, accommodation, shopping, and more.

Unlike traditional celebrity memorial halls, the Museum of Lingnan Pioneers breaks away from the lofty and solemn atmosphere of conventional displays. Instead, it makes extensive use of videos, sculptures, and audiovisual interactive installations, integrating knowledge, fun, and interaction throughout the exhibition space, thereby fostering a stronger emotional connection between the pioneers and visitors. In the second half of 2017, at the 12th China International Building Decoration and Design Art Expo supported by the China Building Decoration Association and the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University, the “Exhibition Design Project of the Museum of Lingnan Pioneers” won the “2016–2017 International Interior Design Innovation Competition Huading Award — Gold Prize in the Exhibition Space Category.”

To enhance the quality and visual appeal of the exhibition, Professor Chen Ke from the Sculpture Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts created over 10 sculptural portraits of the pioneers. These works, while respecting traditional sculpting techniques, showcase a variety of styles: Zhao Tuo entering the city in a ceremonial carriage and holding a sheaf of wheat, symbolizing how the founder of the Nanyue Kingdom brought the fusion of northern and southern civilizations as well as peace and prosperity to Lingnan; the sculpture of Ge Hong alchemizing, combining abstraction and figuration, not only vividly captures his ethereal and transcendent aura but also integrates the sculpture with its environment and viewers; using the forms of “smoke” and “fire” to depict two different historical events that took place at the same location — Lin Zexu’s destruction of opium at Humen and Guan Tianpei’s resistance against British forces — within one sculpture, offering a novel visual richness and recreation of historical scenes. Among these, the sculptures of Zhao Tuo and Zhou Dunyi were awarded the “Excellence Award” at the “Chinese Style – Lingnan Sentiment – 2nd Guangdong Sculpture Exhibition.”

In addition, the incorporation of various local intangible cultural heritage elements adds authenticity, uniqueness, and charm to the exhibition: Gaozhou puppetry showcases the heroic spirit of Lady Xian, the leader of the Yue people; Chaozhou woodcarving recreates the legendary tale of Han Yu driving away crocodiles from the Han River; under a large banyan tree, storytelling in the Cantonese dialect vividly recounts the iron-willed and heroic legends of national heroes such as Weng Wanda, Yuan Chonghuan, and Chen Zizhen.