Sichuan Museum: Visitor Routes and Attraction Guide

Sichuan Museum is located at 251 South Huanhua Road, Qingyang District, Chengdu, within the scenic Huanhua Creek Historic Cultural Area, adjacent to Du Fu Thatched Cottage. As the largest comprehensive museum in southwest China and a National First-Class Museum, Sichuan Museum holds a collection of more than 350,000 cultural relics, of which over 70,000 are classified as precious, presenting a complete historical panorama of Sichuan from prehistoric times through the Ming and Qing dynasties. The museum's architecture draws on the design elements of west Sichuan vernacular buildings, featuring steeply pitched roofs, timber-frame construction, and dark grey roof tiles, creating a presence that is dignified and commanding while remaining warmly rooted in local tradition.

Visitor Notes (Responsible Travel):

Recommended Route: The museum's exhibition area spans three floors. The recommended visiting order is Second Floor → Third Floor → First Floor, following the chronological sequence of Sichuan history for a clear sense of how the region's culture evolved.

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:00 PM)

Recommended visit duration: 3 to 5 hours

Foreign-language ticketing enquiries: +86-28-65521888 | +86-28-65521569 | +86-28-65521555

Second Floor: Ancient Sichuan — Prehistoric Gallery

The Prehistoric Gallery on the second floor is the first section of Sichuan's comprehensive history exhibition. Through more than 340 artifacts, it traces the story of early human settlement and cultural exchange in the Sichuan Basin.

This gallery follows the arc of archaeological discovery from the Paleolithic through the Neolithic, showing how early humans in Sichuan moved from basic survival to the dawn of civilization. Key exhibits include a Neolithic painted pottery bottle and a jade pendant in the shape of a human face. The pottery bottle resembles a bamboo tube, slightly narrowed at the waist with a rolled rim and a flat base, its surface decorated with black parallel lines and rope patterns — an expression of early Yangtze River painted pottery culture. The human-face jade pendant reflects prehistoric Sichuan's jade-working skills and spiritual beliefs.

The gallery also displays other representative artifacts from early Sichuan civilization, including stone tools, pottery, and jade objects, showing how the ancient inhabitants adapted to Sichuan's complex geography and created a rich and distinctive prehistoric culture. Through these precious relics, you can touch the very first threads of Sichuan's civilization and feel the ingenuity and creativity of the people who once lived in this land of Ba and Shu.

Second Floor: Ancient Sichuan — Pre-Qin Period Gallery

The Pre-Qin Period Gallery on the second floor is the second section of Sichuan's comprehensive history exhibition. Through nearly 200 precious artifacts, it presents the development of the Ba-Shu region during the pre-Qin era.

This gallery focuses on the Ba-Shu civilization of the Shang, Zhou, and Warring States periods, showcasing the region's distinctive bronze culture, ritual systems, and social life. Key exhibits include a Western Zhou dynasty bronze lei vessel with elephant-trunk handles and kui dragon patterns, a Warring States period bronze hu vessel with water and land battle scenes, and Sanxingdui bronze artifacts. The bronze lei vessel features three layers of relief — elephant heads at the shoulders and animal masks on the belly — serving as compelling evidence of cultural exchange between ancient Shu and the Central Plains ritual tradition. The battle-scene bronze hu vessel has been called a "Warring States version of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival scroll," its surface inlaid with red copper wire forming four bands of imagery depicting warfare, daily life, and production in the Ba-Shu region.

The gallery also displays weapons, ritual vessels, and everyday objects from the Ba-Shu area, including bronze swords, spears, and halberds, as well as the distinctive writing and symbols of Ba-Shu culture. These exhibits not only reveal the unique character of Ba-Shu civilization, but also shed light on its cultural exchanges and interactions with the Central Plains, Chu, and other surrounding regions.

Second Floor: Zhang Daqian Painting and Calligraphy Gallery

The Zhang Daqian Painting and Calligraphy Gallery on the second floor is a dedicated showcase of the artist's achievements. Sichuan Museum holds a large collection of works by Zhang Daqian, most notably 183 copies he made of Dunhuang murals — a holding that has earned the museum its reputation as the world's richest repository of Zhang Daqian's work.

This gallery is divided into three sections: Zhang Daqian's copies of Dunhuang murals, his freehand paintings, and his personal seal collection. Must-see works include "Copy of an Early Tang Bodhisattva with Necklace" and "Copy of the Donor Portrait of the Governor's Wife, Lady Wang of Taiyuan." The former reveals Zhang Daqian's deep study and transmission of Dunhuang mural art, employing the "Cao style" technique — in which drapery appears to cling to the body as if wet — an approach associated with the Northern Qi painter Cao Zhongda, in which the folds press close to the figure as if floating in water.

The gallery also features Zhang Daqian's early works, including figure paintings of court ladies, flower-and-bird paintings, and landscape paintings, as well as the various seals he used. Through these works, you can trace Zhang Daqian's artistic journey from tradition to innovation, and see how he wove together Ba-Shu culture and Dunhuang art to create a style entirely his own.

Third Floor: Ancient Sichuan — Jin through Five Dynasties Period Gallery

The Jin through Five Dynasties Period Gallery on the third floor is the fourth section of Sichuan's comprehensive history exhibition. Through more than 280 artifacts, it highlights the "cultural sparks" that flew when different peoples and dynasties collided during an era of shifting power.

This gallery is divided into two units — the Jin and Northern-Southern Dynasties period, and the Sui-Tang through Five Dynasties period. Key exhibits include a Southern Qi Yongming-era stone stele of Amitayus Buddha, a Tang dynasty seven-string qin named "Ice-Breaking at the Rocky Stream," and a Five Dynasties period jade belt belonging to Former Shu King Wang Jian. The Amitayus stone stele is one of the earliest surviving Southern Dynasties Buddhist sculpture steles in Sichuan with a confirmed date, showcasing the "slender figure with delicate folds" aesthetic of Southern Dynasties Buddhist art. The qin named "Ice-Breaking at the Rocky Stream" is one of fewer than 20 surviving Tang dynasty instruments of its kind; it has been exhibited in Singapore and stands as testimony to the glory of Tang dynasty music.

The gallery also displays ceramics, gold and silverwork, and paintings and calligraphy from the Tang and Song periods, including Tang sancai ware and fragmentary stone classics from the Later Shu of the Five Dynasties, reflecting the economic prosperity and cultural flowering of Sichuan during this era. Through these exhibits, you can trace the spread and development of Buddhism in Sichuan, and the rich historical blending of different peoples and cultures across the region.

Third Floor: Sichuan Ethnic Minority Artifacts Gallery

The Sichuan Ethnic Minority Artifacts Gallery on the third floor showcases the cultures and lives of the 14 indigenous ethnic minority groups of Sichuan. Sichuan Museum has selected more than 200 exhibits for this gallery, organized into four sections: Yi People of the Mountains, Qiang Village Life, Tibetan Plateau Culture, and Colorful Miao Country.

Key exhibits include Yi ethnic costumes, a Tibetan gilded bronze mask, and a Qiang sheepskin drum. The Yi costumes are represented by those from the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture: both men and women wear right-lapel robes, and men traditionally grow a single tuft of hair on the front of the crown — known as the "Hero's Knot" — while women's dress varies between unmarried and married styles. The Tibetan gilded bronze mask reflects the characteristics of Tibetan religious belief and ritual ceremony.

The gallery also displays Miao silver jewelry, Tujia brocade, and other ethnic craft objects, along with daily utensils and production tools from various ethnic groups. These exhibits not only express the distinctive artistic styles and practical wisdom of Sichuan's ethnic peoples, but also embody the unity-in-diversity that defines Chinese culture as a whole.

Third Floor: Arts and Crafts Gallery

The Arts and Crafts Gallery on the third floor presents the finest works from Sichuan Museum's collection of decorative arts and crafts, spanning a period from as early as the Shang dynasty to the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China period.

Key exhibits include a Qing dynasty thangka depicting King Gesar, a Tang dynasty celadon-glazed warrior figurine, and a Qing dynasty ivory-carved screen illustrating scenes from Dream of the Red Chamber. The King Gesar thangka is an artistic rendering of the Tibetan epic "The Epic of King Gesar." The Tang Bodhisattva head, celebrated as the "Eastern Goddess of Beauty," represents the perfect union of Buddhist art and Tang dynasty craftsmanship. The gallery also displays jade objects, gold and silver work, items carved from bamboo, wood, ivory, and horn, lacquerware, shadow puppets, snuff bottles, and embroidery spanning the Shang dynasty through the early Republican era — including jade belt hooks and a double-sided Shu embroidery vase featuring cats and dogs.

These objects are not only distinctive in form, vibrant in color, and exquisite in carving — most were also practical items for daily use, reflecting the ancient craftsman's gift for weaving art and life seamlessly together. The Arts and Crafts Gallery offers a vivid encounter with the deep craft traditions and consummate skill of the Ba-Shu region.

First Floor: Sichuan Han Dynasty Ceramic and Stone Art Gallery

The Sichuan Han Dynasty Ceramic and Stone Art Gallery on the first floor is one of the museum's principal permanent galleries. The Han dynasty ceramic and stone art represented here — through pictorial stones, pictorial bricks, and ceramic sculpture — arose from the era's custom of lavish burial, and carries a strong sense of ethnic character and its historical moment.

Must-see exhibits include an Eastern Han dynasty ceramic storytelling and singing figurine and the pictorial brick "Salt Well." The storytelling figurine has been called the "forefather of comic performance": exquisitely preserved, it shows a figure with a topknot, half-closed eyes, a lopsided grin with tongue poking out, both arms raised high, the left hand cradling a small drum and the right gripping a mallet — a vivid portrait of the cheerful, free-spirited attitude of Han dynasty Sichuanese. The pictorial brick "Salt Well" depicts the production of Sichuan well-salt from a bird's-eye view and has been called the world's earliest "industrial process diagram," reflecting the advanced handicraft technology of Han dynasty Sichuan.

The gallery also displays Han dynasty ceramic figurines, pictorial stones, and bronze objects, including an exorcism figurine and a bronze money tree. These exhibits illuminate both the social life and artistic achievements of Han dynasty Sichuan, and the spiritual beliefs and views on life and death held by the people of that era.

First Floor: Wanfo Temple Stone Carving Gallery

The Wanfo Temple Stone Carving Gallery on the first floor is one of the museum's permanent galleries. It displays Buddhist stone sculpture unearthed from the site of Wanfo Temple in Chengdu — pieces that have been excavated continuously since the eighth year of the Guangxu reign (1882) — amounting to more than 200 figures, the majority of which are now held at Sichuan Museum.

The Wanfo Temple stone carvings are a significant body of evidence for Buddhist sculpture of the Southern Dynasties and of the Sichuan region. Key exhibits include a standing figure of Shakyamuni from the fourth year of the Putong era of the Liang dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, and a Tang dynasty Bodhisattva head. The Liang-dynasty Shakyamuni figure bears a precisely dated inscription and reflects the artistic style and devotional spirit of Southern Dynasties Buddhist art. The Tang dynasty Bodhisattva head has been celebrated as the "Eastern Goddess of Beauty," representing the peak of Tang Buddhist sculpture.

The sculptures in this gallery cover a wide range of subjects, including Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, inscription steles, and niche carvings, and are characterized by the Southern Dynasties aesthetic of slender elegance and flowing, ample robes. These works hold exceptional artistic value and serve as an important historical record of the spread and development of Buddhism throughout Sichuan.