Yunnan Provincial Museum

Located at No.2, Wuyi Road, the comprehensive museum stores, collects and exhibits large numbers of objects concerning anthropology, ethnology, archaeology and other related fields of learning. It is an important place for conducting scientific research and education on patriotism and historical materialism. The museum was founded in 1958. The construction of the exhibition hall, a building of seven stories at the centre and three stories on both wings, was started in the same year and completed in 1964. The exhibition halls with a total floor space of 2,400 square metres are arranged in the first three stories. The golden finial that supports a red star shines radiantly. Giving a sense of sublimity, the building stands out in the city with a dazzling brightness.

The museum is in possession of over 60,000 historical, revolutionary and ethnic relics and handicrafts. Among the exhibits concerning the history of Yunnan, there are about 1,000 articles of great importance, such as the historical relics of the Period of the Warring States (475 B.C.-221 B.C.) and the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-23 A.D.) excavated in Jinning, Jiangchuan, Anning, Kunming and Xiangyun. Some of the bronze articles of the Western Han Dynasty occupy very high positions in the bronze art of China. They are Niu Hu Tong An (bronze table with the design of a tiger cub coming upon two buffalo), the bronze outer coffin with superb craftsmanship, the exquisitely processed cowne shell containers of various forms and sizes, buttons and so on. These bronze articles shed light on the intrinsic political relanonship between Yunnan and the interior of China. Exhibited in the museum are also the beautiful costumes of the 25 minority nationalities in Yunnan. The exhibits ranging from primitive tools of production to fine articles for daily use hold up to view vividly the development of their traditional culture, arousing keen interest of the visitors in general and close attention of experts in particular at home and abroad.