Shanxi Provincial Museum – Home to over 500,000 Items

Shanxi Provincial Museum

The Shanxi Provincial Museum (山西博物院) is one of China’s first-class national museums and the largest center in Shanxi Province for collecting, preserving, researching, and displaying cultural relics. Originally established as the Shanxi Education Library Museum in 1919, it underwent several name changes before becoming the Shanxi Provincial Museum in 1953. The new museum building, completed in 2004 and opened in 2005, covers 168 acres with a total floor area of 52,000 square meters.

The museum features 13,000 square meters of exhibition space and houses over 500,000 items in its collection. Its highlights include 40,282 valuable cultural relics, with 2,129 classified as first-class artifacts, and more than 110,000 ancient books. The permanent exhibitions are organized around themes such as “The Soul of Jin,” which covers seven historical and cultural topics including the Cradle of Civilization, Traces of Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Power of Jin State, the Melting Pot of Nations, Buddhist Influences, the Hometown of Drama, and Ming and Qing Dynasty Merchants of Shanxi. Additionally, there are five art-themed sections showcasing architectural masterpieces, scenic excellence, calligraphy and painting, global perspectives, and porcelain art.


Table of Contents


Basic Information

Estimated Length of Tour2 – 3 hours
Ticket PriceFree
Opening Hours9.00 – 17.00; Last admission: 16.00
Closed on Mondays
Telephone Number0086-0351-8789555

Location and Transportation

The Shanxi Provincial Museum is located at 13 North Binhe West Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China. To get there, you can take bus 69, 863, or 865 and get off at Shanxi Provincial Museum Stop (山西博物院站).


Primary Exhibitions in Shanxi Provincial Museum

Exhibition ThemeComponentsMain ContentRecommended Artifacts
Cradle of CivilizationSacred Fire of AntiquityPaleolithic cultural relics from ShanxiDingcun Tooth Fossil, Triangular Sharp-edged Tool, Scraper
Roots of HuaxiaNeolithic artifacts from 7,000 to 4,000 years agoPainted Pot, Painted Jar, Clay Drum
Traces of Xia and ShangRuins of the Xia DynastyArtifacts from Xia and Shang dynasties in southern ShanxiCeramic Steamer, Tripod with Rope Pattern, Grey Pot with Rope Pattern
Shang Dynasty HighlightsEarly Shang period city sites and bronze artifactsMilk-Bottle Pattern Tripod, Square Ding with Taotie Pattern, Bronze Ding
Treasures of Fang KingdomLate Shang bronze artifactsBeast-shaped Goblet, Dragon-shaped Goblet, Owl-shaped Vessel
Jin State AchievementsRiver Fen’s PrideArtifacts from the Jin State tombs and sitesJin Marquis Bird-shaped Vessel, Pig-shaped Vessel, Bird-headed Jug
Jin Dominance in Spring and AutumnArtifacts from Houma Jin State siteDeformed Beast-patterned Jar, Bell, Jin Shuja Father’s Plate
Legacy of the Three Jin StatesArtifacts from the Warring States periodKui Phoenix Pattern Basin, Tripod with Ring Ears, Cauldron
Melting Pot of NationsWithin and Beyond the Great WallHan, Wei Jin, and Sixteen Kingdoms period artifactsHu Fu Wine Vessel, Four Divine Symbols Furnace, Goose and Fish Bronze Lamp
Pingcheng EraNorthern Wei period artifactsStone Carvings, Wooden Painted Panels, Acrobat Figurines
Former Capital Jin YangArtifacts from the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi periodsBronze Ox Cart, Braided Hair Rider Figurine, Gold Ornaments
Exotic InfluencesEthnic integration and foreign exchange achievementsGlass Bowl, Gilded Silver Cup with Figure and Animal Patterns, Stone Coffin from Yu Hong Tomb
Buddhist InfluencesNorthern Dynasties StyleBuddhist art from the Northern DynastiesCheng Zhe Stele, Standing Shakyamuni Statue, Shakyamuni Head
Flourish of the Tang DynastyTang Dynasty Buddhist sculptureBodhisattva Standing Statue, Bodhisattva Head, White Stone Painted Manjusri Riding Lion Statue
Human EmotionsBuddhist art in Shanxi’s social and cultural lifeGilded Avalokiteshvara Statue, Chunhua Yuanbao, Bodhisattva Head
Hometown of DramaHundred Dramas and DancesFolk song and dance artsCeramic Flute, Clay Opera Figures, Festival Brick Carving
Rooted in LifeDrama rooted in folk lifeTwenty-four Filial Piety Figurines, Eight Immortals Brick Carvings
Life’s RolesZaju drama from the Song, Jin, and Yuan DynastiesDrama Stage and Figures, Gold Tomb Brick Carvings, Sitting Floor Killing
Shadow PlaysShanxi Shadow PuppetryShadow Puppets, Shadow Play Performances
Ming and Qing Dynasty MerchantsMerchant FootstepsFootsteps of Shanxi merchants
Financial DominanceQing Dynasty Shanxi banksYuhe De Bank Money Notes, Pingyao Yuitai Hou Contract No. 13, Pingyao Yuitai Hou Bank License
Courtyard SplendorShanxi merchant guilds and mansionsQiao Family Mansion, Garden Lady Screen, Taishi Lesser Lion Screen
Architectural MasterpiecesFrozen Music: Ancient ArchitectureAncient Shanxi architectural artSouth Zen Temple Main Hall, Buddha Light Temple East Hall, Yongle Palace Sanqing Hall
Ancient Wall PaintingsTemple wall paintingsVarious Bodhisattvas, Law Explanation Painting, Thousand-hand and Thousand-eye Guanyin
Divine CraftsmanshipTemple and Shrine Color SculpturesFree-form Guanyin, Maitreya Buddha, Twenty-eight Constellation Sculptures
Radiant GlazeShanxi architectural glaze artSauce Yellow Glaze Lion, Three-color Lotus Pod Incense Burner, Glazed Cloud Jar

Other Attractions in Taiyuan Urban Area

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Feel free to ask any question about this place ^_^x
Trip Affiliate