Guangdong Museum

Guangdong Museum

Guangdong Museum serves as a base for science education and patriotic education.

Guangdong Museum is a provincial comprehensive museum. The old museum was first planned in 1957, with its site set at No. 6 Wenming Road (now No. 215). This location was once the Guangzhou Examination Hall during the Qing Dynasty, later becoming the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit — the former site of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang (including the Revolutionary Square) and the Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit — the Red Building and the Sun Yat-sen University Astronomical Observatory. The old museum covered an area of 43,000 square meters. The original design of the exhibition building was a “U”-shaped structure, with the main building facing east, a southern annex on the right, and a northern annex on the left, with a total construction area of about 14,000 square meters. The southern annex was completed in the first half of 1959, with three floors and an area of 3,500 square meters. The main building and the northern annex were not built later due to economic difficulties. On October 1, 1959, Guangdong Museum and the Guangzhou Lu Xun Memorial Hall under its administration officially opened to the public. After the reform and opening up, to meet the growing cultural needs of the people, Guangdong Museum decided to build a new exhibition building on the original site. In October 1992, the new exhibition building was completed, with a total construction area of 18,700 square meters, including 12,300 square meters of newly built space, and an exhibition area of 6,000 square meters, four times that of the original building.

Since its opening, Guangdong Museum has launched many large-scale exhibitions that have had significant social impact, such as the "Exhibition of Historical Relics of Guangdong," "Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed in Guangdong," "Exhibition of Achievements of Guangdong's Reform and Opening Up," "Exhibition of Selected Donated Cultural Relics by Mr. Shang Chengzuo," "Exhibition of the Glorious Achievements of Liu Shaoqi," and others. The museum’s permanent exhibitions include: "A Broad View of Guangdong’s History," "The Essence of Lacquer and Wood — Exhibition of Chaozhou Woodcarving Art," "The Maritime Silk Road of the South China Sea," "Exhibition of Rare Animals in Guangdong," "Lu Xun’s Life and Commemoration," and "Exhibition of Historical Materials on the First National Congress of the Kuomintang and the First KMT-CPC Cooperation." These exhibitions, based on the historical and cultural characteristics of Guangdong and the strengths of the museum’s collection, fully reflect the long-standing cultural heritage and rich natural resources of Lingnan culture. In addition, the museum also regularly hosts various distinctive temporary exhibitions. From its opening to 2009, it has held over 300 exhibitions. From 1985 to 2004, nearly 20 years, it averaged 8–9 exhibitions per year, receiving millions of visitors.

In terms of artifact collection and preservation, through various channels such as solicitation, purchase, and allocation, Guangdong Museum’s collection has grown from nothing to a substantial size. As of December 2016, the total number of collections reached over 172,700 items (sets), including 130,785 items (sets) of cultural relics and ancient books, and 41,960 natural specimens. Among them, Chinese ceramics and paintings from various dynasties rank among the top in both quantity and quality nationwide. The collections of unearthed relics from Guangdong, as well as gold and wood carvings and Duan inkstones, are the most abundant and distinctive in local character. In recent years, Guangdong Museum has placed particular emphasis on the investigation and collection of folk cultural relics from the three major ethnic groups (Cantonese, Hakka, and Teochew) to further improve the quality of the collection and strengthen regional cultural identity.

Entering the new century, Guangdong Museum has encountered a once-in-a-millennium development opportunity. In 2003, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Government decided to invest 900 million yuan to build the new Guangdong Museum in Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou. The new Guangdong Museum project is a key construction project of Guangdong Province’s “Ten Major Projects” and one of the three major cultural facilities for building a strong cultural province. The new museum is located by the Pearl River, in the southern part of the central area of Zhujiang New Town, on the eastern side of the new urban axis, together with the Guangzhou Opera House on the west side, the central tree-lined boulevard, and the riverside green belt, forming the Guangzhou Cultural and Art Plaza. The new museum has a planned total land area of 41,000 square meters, with a above-ground construction area of about 48,000 square meters and an underground construction area of about 15,000 square meters, totaling about 63,000 square meters.

The architectural design of the new museum’s main body features a sleek, compact box shape, using a giant suspended steel truss roof structure. The spatial organization concept is inspired by the traditional Guangdong handicraft — the ivory ball. The new museum integrates eight major functional systems organically: collection management, exhibition display, education and comprehensive services, research and operations, administrative management, security, mechanical and electrical equipment, and underground parking. The building fully considers intelligent requirements, with complete equipment and advanced facilities, adopting comprehensive security, building automation, and other safety systems, as well as constant temperature and humidity air conditioning, intelligent lighting, and other cultural relic protection systems. In addition, the design also takes energy conservation and environmental protection into full consideration, focusing on the use of new energy-saving materials, processes, and technologies in building material selection and equipment choices, and making maximum use of the regional public services provided by Zhujiang New Town.

The exhibition halls of the new museum provide large, column-free spaces with height differences ranging from 5 to 22 meters, allowing for maximum creative flexibility in exhibit layout. The exhibitions focus mainly on Guangdong’s history, folklore, art, and nature, and include a history hall, an art hall, and a natural hall. Additionally, the museum is equipped with an exhibition system, a collection management system, an education and comprehensive service system, a research and operations system, a security system, and an administrative management system. With comprehensive infrastructure and advanced management systems, the new museum will become a leading large-scale comprehensive museum both nationally and internationally. As one of the three iconic cultural facilities in Guangdong Province, the new Guangdong Museum plays a vital role in fostering Guangzhou’s cultural atmosphere, reflecting its status as the cultural center of South China, enhancing international cultural exchanges, and establishing Guangzhou as a modern international metropolis.

Inquiry/Reservation Phone: 020-38046886 Reservation Fax: 020-38046880

Address: No. 2 Zhujiang East Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Opening Hours:

The museum offers free admission to the public. Opening hours are from 9:00 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday (ticket distribution and entry stop at 16:00), closed on Mondays (except statutory holidays and special circumstances).

Individual Visit Reservation:

To save you time waiting in line for tickets, the museum recommends that visitors holding second-generation ID cards make a reservation before collecting tickets for their visit. For individual reservations, please click “Individual Online Reservation.”

Transportation:

Bus: Take bus 886, 886A, or 293 and get off at Xiancun Road South Station; or take bus 40 or 407 and get off at Guangzhou Opera House West Gate Station.

Metro: Exit B1 at Zhujiang New Town Station on Line 3 of the metro, walk forward to the Guangzhou Opera House, then continue east along Linjiang Avenue for 200 meters; or exit D at Liede Station on Line 5, walk forward to Xiancun Road, then turn left and walk about 200 meters south along Xiancun Road. At Exit B of APM Grand Theatre Station, take the escalator to Huacheng Plaza, then walk right to the museum’s west gate.

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China