Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine

Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine

The Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine is recognized as a science education base and a patriotism education base.

The Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine is situated in the picturesque eastern area of Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, inside the campus of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. It is a comprehensive university museum directly under the university's administration. Its origins trace back to the Chinese herbal specimen room and medicinal garden built by Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in 1956, and the Medical History Museum constructed in 1996. These were combined into the "Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture" in 2001. To support the development of traditional Chinese medicine and implement Guangdong Province’s strategy to build a “province strong in Chinese medicine,” it was officially renamed the Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine in 2006.

Today, the Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine has become a National Science Education Base, a National Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Publicity and Education Base, a Guangdong Provincial Science Education Base, a Guangdong Provincial Youth Science and Technology Education Base, a Guangdong Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Health Tourism Demonstration Base, a Guangzhou Science and Technology Popularization Base, a Guangzhou Patriotic Education Base and Model Site, a Chinese Cultural Heritage Base, and a branch site of the National College Students’ Cultural Quality Education Base. It is also a recommended attraction on Guangzhou’s Classic Science Tour, a demonstration scenic spot on the Guangzhou Coastal Golden Tour Corridor, a sightseeing stop on the Guangzhou–Foshan–Zhaoqing Metropolitan Tourism Route, and one of Guangdong’s first national tourism and leisure demonstration units. It was honored as the "Most Popular Science Base Among Citizens in Guangzhou" in 2010, and as one of the "Top Ten Guangdong Science Education Bases" for 2009–2010.

The museum currently has a construction area of 14,200 square meters, with 8,000 square meters of indoor exhibition space and an additional 55,000 square meters of outdoor Chinese herbal planting gardens. The collection includes over 5,000 pieces of medical history artifacts, more than 2,400 types of Chinese herbal specimens totaling over 10,000 bottles (or samples), and over 2,200 varieties of herbs cultivated in the outdoor herbal garden. Indoor exhibition areas include the Medical History Exhibition Hall, Chinese Herbal Exhibition Hall, Large Liquid-Preserved Specimen Exhibition Hall, and a Science Interaction Zone. Outdoor attractions include the "Medicine King Mountain" and "Shizhen Mountain" herbal gardens, as well as landmarks such as the Wall of Famous Lingnan Physicians and a sculpture of the “Medical Sage” Zhang Zhongjing.

The Guangdong Museum of Chinese Medicine comprises an Office, Exhibition Department, Science Popularization and Education Department, and Academic Department. It currently employs 13 full-time science education staff, including 4 with senior titles, 6 with mid-level titles, 4 holding doctoral degrees, and 4 with master's degrees. Leveraging the university’s superior resources and high-caliber talent pool, the museum conducts a variety of engaging science outreach activities. These include lectures, mobile exhibitions, presentations, face-to-face health consultations with experts, interactive teaching sessions on wellness and qigong exercises, genuine vs. fake medicinal material identification, hands-on workshops for making herbal herbarium specimens, interactive lessons on differentiating Yin and Yang, experiencing traditional Chinese pulse diagnosis, and multimedia interactive exploration of acupuncture. The museum has also developed educational content such as an instructional video on Baduanjin (a form of qigong) from the Chinese Medicine Science Popularization Series, and informational brochures on experiencing TCM diagnostic observation. Additionally, it actively participates in joint science resource initiatives with provincial and municipal science and technology departments, contributing to publications such as the "Popular Chinese Medicine Series" (winner of the First Prize for Excellent Science Popularization Works in Guangzhou’s Second Edition), "Highlights of the Herbal Garden," and "The Style of Famous Lingnan Physicians."

Address: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, No. 232 Waihuan East Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

1. Take University Town Bus Lines 1, 2, 3, 4 (or Buses 33, 76, 86, 298, 306, 310, 565, 801) to Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center – Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine & Guangzhou Pharmaceutical University Station, then walk about 300 meters.

2. Take Metro Line 4 to either University Town South or University Town North Station, transfer to Island Bus 381, then walk about 300 meters to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine & Guangzhou Pharmaceutical University Station.

3. Take BRT Line B25 from Sports Center to University Town Central Hub, then transfer to Island Bus 381, and walk about 300 meters to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine & Guangzhou Pharmaceutical University Station.

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China