Set up in early 1950s, Hunan Provincial Museum (hú nán shěng bó wù guǎn 湖南省博物馆) lies in the Kaifu District (kāi fú qū 开福区) of Changsha (cháng shā 长沙), which is a famous historical and cultural city, adjoining the beautiful Martyr’s Park (liè shì gōng yuán 烈士公园). It has an area of 51000 square meters and the total public building has 29000 square meters. Hunan Provincial Museum is the largest museum of history and art in Hunan Province (hú nán shěng 湖南省), and was chosen to be a National Demonstration Base of Patriotic Education and a AAAA national Tourist Attraction.

It boasts abundant collections that feature cultural relics excavated from the outstanding Mawangdui Han Tombs (mǎ wáng dūi hàn mù 马王堆汉墓), the bronze wares of the Shang (shāng 商) and Zhou (zhōu 周) Dynasties and Chu State (chǔ guó 楚国), pottery and porcelain works in the past dynasties, calligraphy works and paintings, and modern cultural relics.

The Museum contains a collection of more than 110,000 objects, including 763 pieces of the first grade. Its exhibits consist of stone implements of the Neolithic Age (xīn shí qì shí dài 新石器时代), potteries, bronze wares of the Shang and Zhou periods (17th century -256 BC), relics from the Chu State and relics from a big tome excavated in 1972 -- Mawangdui  Han (206 BC-8 AD) Tomb. Besides, Yuezhou celadon produced from the Eastern Han (25-220) to the Tang (618-907) period, Changsha Tang San Cai (tán sān cǎi 唐三彩, Tri-color Glazed Porcelain of the Tang Dynasty), the facsimiles of Wang Xizhi' s (wáng xī zhī 王羲之) Prologue to the Orchid Pavilion Collection (lán tíng jí xù 兰亭集序) and the handwriting of Wang Fuzhi (wáng fū zhī 王夫之), the great thinker of the early Qing (qīng 清) period (1644-1911), are also housed here.

With a concentration of treasures of cultural relics from the land of Hunan, Hunan Provincial Museum paints a panoramic historical picture of Hunan civilization. Serving as an important window through which to interpret the history and nuances of Hunan culture, it attracts hundred thousands of visitors from home and abroad.

There are many exhibitions in Hunan Provincial Museum. The most famous one is the exhibition of Mawangdui Han Tomb, which attracts people from far and near.

The excavation from 1972 to 1974 of the group of three tombs of the Western Han dynasty at Mawangdui in Changsha marks one of the major archaeological discoveries in the twentieth century. Over 3000 cultural relics and a well-preserved female corpse were unearthed.
Among the relics uncovered were bright-colored lacquer wares representing the highest level of workmanship; fine silks showing amazingly accomplished weaving technique; silk paintings with romantic themes of the Kingdom of Heaven and the craving for eternity; and inscriptions on silk demonstrating knowledge and wisdom of the ancient sages. The well-preserved female corpse is a miracle in human antisepsis.

On view here are 284 cultural relics that are the soul of the Han tombs at Mawangdui, which will lead you through history to taste the mystery and magnificence of Chinese civilization during the Han Dynasty (hàn cháo 汉朝).

Hunan Provincial Museum
Address: No. 50 Dongfeng Road (dōng fēng lù 东风路), Kaifu District, Changsha
Admission fee: RMB 50
Opening Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Apr.1 to Oct. 9)(No tickets selling after 5:00 p.m.)
                         8:30 a.m. -- 5:30 p.m. (Oct.10 to Mar.31)(No tickets selling after 4:30 p.m.)
Traffic: take bus No. 112, 113, 131, 136, 146, 150, 302, 303, 901