Hubei Provincial Museum
The Hubei Provincial Museum (Chinese: 湖北省博物馆) is one of the best known museums in China, with a large amount of state-level historic and cultural relics.[1] Established in 1953, the museum moved to its present location in 1960 and gained its present name in 1963. Since 1999 a number of new buildings have been added. The museum received 1,992,512 visitors in 2017.[2]
The museum is located in the Wuchang District of Wuhan, Hubei Province, not far from the west shore of Wuhan's East Lake. It has a collection of over 200,000 objects, including the Sword of Goujian, an ancient set of bronze bells (Bianzhong) and extensive artifacts from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng and the tombs at Baoshan. The particular importance of several of the archaeological items in the museum's collection has been recognized by the national government by including them into the list of Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad.
History
The predecessor of the Hubei Provincial Museum was the Hubei Provincial Public Scientific Experiment Hall established in 1928. In 1953, the Hubei Provincial Cultural Bureau began to prepare and it became the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural History Research. In 1959, the Hubei Provincial Museum Preparation Office was built in the Donghu Scenic Area of Wuhan. In 1960, the renowned writer and patriot Dong Biwu inscribed the name of the Hubei Provincial Museum.[3] In 2002, Hubei Provincial Museum and the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Archaeology merged for office operations. In 2023, the Hubei Provincial Museum and Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Archaeology separated and operated independently. In 2023, the Hubei Provincial Cultural Exchange Information Center and the Provincial Institute of Art and Craft were integrated into the Hubei Provincial Museum. In the same year, Hubei Provincial Museum and the institute operated independently respectively.[4]
Location and Layout
The Hubei Provincial Museum is located in Donghu Scenic Area of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The total construction area is 125,000 square meters, and the exhibition area is 38,000 square meters. It forms an overall layout of "four museums, three centers, and two bases". The overall layout of the museum area reflects the symmetrical central axis of Chu Dynasty architecture, "one platform and one hall", "multiple platforms in groups", and "multiple groups in clusters" of high platform architectural layout format.[5] In 2021, a new building was built on the south side of the original building complex (the old building). The new building has 5 floors (4 floors above ground and 1 floor underground). It has 12 thematic exhibition halls, 1 digital exhibition hall, 3 temporary exhibition halls, and a chime bell performance hall. The exterior of the old building is in the shape of a ladder, while the exterior of the new building is in the shape of an inverted ladder. The top wall of the new building is made of glass, which allows visitors to view the scenery of Donghu through the glass wall. The interior design of the new building highlights the cultural elements.[3]
Exhibition Layout
Permanent Exhibition
Marquis Yi of Zeng, Special Exhibition of Sword Goubian , The Zeng Family - Unveiling the Secrets of the State of Zeng, Eight Centuries of Chu Dynasty, Liangzhuangwang Collection - Treasures from the Zhenghe Era, Heaven Sounds - Early Musical Instruments Found in Hubei.
Temporary Exhibitions
Temporary displays feature Chinese cultural relics from different themes and periods, such as "Temporary Exhibition of Treasures from the Uffizi Gallery in Italy".
Virtual Exhibitions
Also known as "Cloud Viewing of Exhibits". People can access the Hubei Provincial Museum via electronic devices to view and appreciate the exhibits. [3]
Important collection of items
The Hubei Provincial Museum currently houses over 460,000 items (sets), among which 1,095 are first-class cultural relics. The museum's collection includes bronze ware, lacquer and woodware, gold and silverware, jade, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings, etc. [6]These relics mainly come from archaeological excavations (such as the Panlongcheng Shang Dynasty site and the Shashihe Site in Tianmen) and private donations. The unearthed cultural relics from archaeological excavations reflect the ancient art of the Hubei region and have a strong "Jingchu Civilization" flavor. [3]
The Treasure Piece
The Sword Goujian
It is hailed as "the best sword in the world". This artifact was unearthed in December 1965 from Tomb No. 1 at Wangshan, Jiangling, Hubei Province. The sword is 55.6 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide.[7]This sword has not rusted for over 2,000 years and the patterns are clearly visible. There are two lines of bird-tail script inscriptions on the blade, which read "King Goujian of Yue, I use this sword for myself". After experts' research, Goujian is identified as King Goujian. This sword was the main short weapon during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States periods.
Gallery
See also
References
- ^ "Hubei Museum". 2005-01-25. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "湖北省博物馆2017年社教工作结硕果" (in Chinese). Hubei Provincial Museum. 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d Meixue, Hongtang (1 June 2024). Hubei Provincial Museum [Hubei Provincial Museum] (in Chinese) (1st ed.). Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press. pp. Page18. ISBN 9787577208138.
- ^ "博物馆简介 - 湖北省博物馆". www.hbkgy.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ 湖北省人们政府 (07/13/2025). "湖北省博物馆".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "博物馆简介 - 湖北省博物馆". www.hbkgy.com. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "博物馆简介 - 湖北省博物馆". www.hbkgy.com. Retrieved 2025-07-14.