Hubei Provincial Museum

Four treasure highlights: Sword of Goujian, King of Yue (unearthed in 1965, still rust-free after a thousand years) / Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng (65 Warring States chime bells + complete set of ritual vessels) / Yunxian Man skull fossils (a million years old) / Yuan-dynasty blue-and-white “Four Loves” meiping vase; Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng exhibition hall (lacquered wooden vessels / sixteen-section dragon-and-phoenix jade pendant) + “Eight Centuries of Chu” exhibition; chime bell performances (CNY 30 per session). With its four treasure highlights, Hubei Provincial Museum holds up half of the great chapters of Chinese archaeology: when the Sword of Goujian was unearthed in 1965 it gleamed as if new and its blade could cut through hair, and the mystery of its “rust-free millennia” is still being studied today; the Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng — 65 Warring States bronze chime bells spanning five and a half octaves — rewrote world music history with the casting technique that makes one bell produce two tones, and at the chime performances (CNY 30) you can hear with your own ears a timbre from two thousand years ago. The Yunxian Man skull fossils push human history in Hubei back a million years, and the Yuan blue-and-white “Four Loves” meiping vase is a rare intact masterpiece among surviving Yuan blue-and-white wares; the lacquered wooden vessels and the sixteen-section dragon-and-phoenix jade pendant in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng hall represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship, while the “Eight Centuries of Chu” special exhibition systematically presents the romance and grandeur of Chu culture. Free (reservation required); for popular time slots you need to grab a booking days in advance — allow at least half a day.

Getting there: Metro Line 4, Dongting Station, then walk about 1 km