Yunnan Provincial Museum
Yunnan's largest comprehensive museum, with a collection of over 230,000 objects and two strengths unmatched in southwest China: the Warring States bronze civilization of the Dian kingdom — the Ox-Tiger Bronze Table (a bronze masterpiece with a tiger biting the ox's waist and a calf sheltering beneath its tail), the Gilded Rider Cowrie Container with Four Oxen, and more — freezing scenes of the Dian people's rituals of 2,000 years ago...
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 09:00-17:00 (closed Mondays)
- Ticket
- Free (reservation required)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Yunnan's largest comprehensive museum, holding over 230,000 objects, with two strengths unmatched in southwest China. First, the Warring States-era bronze civilization of the Dian kingdom: works such as the Ox-Tiger Bronze Table (a bronze masterpiece in which a tiger bites an ox's waist while a calf shelters beneath its tail) and the Gilded Four-Ox Rider Cowrie Container freeze scenes of Dian rituals, warfare, and farming from 2,000 years ago. Second, the Buddhist art of the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms: the Gilded Acuoye Guanyin with silver aureola is a treasure of near-unique status among statues commissioned by the Dali royal court. The permanent exhibitions 'Ancient Yunnan' and 'Light of Civilization' systematically unfold a historical scroll from the Cambrian Chengjiang biota to modern Yunnan.
Getting there: Bus, Guangfu Road / by taxi
Photos
More in Kunming
- Green Lake Park
A 'jade within the city' at the heart of Kunming's old town, also known as Nine Dragon Pool because 'nine springs emerge and gather into a pond'; Bamboo Island, Goldfish Island and Lianhua Chan Temple (initiated by Chen Can in the late Qing) on the lake are linked by causeways and bridges; with weeping willows and green water in all seasons, it is the starting point of everyday Kunming life and slow wandering through the old town
- Former Site of the Yunnan Military Academy (Jiangwutang)
A modern-style army school founded in 1909 in the late Qing, ranked together with the Tianjin and Northeast Jiangwutang as the three great military academies of the late Qing; its beige courtyard complex in the 'zouma zhuanjiaolou' style (linked corridors and corner towers) encloses the parade ground, making it one of China's best-preserved modern military academy sites
- Yunnan University (Huize Building)
Donglu University, founded in 1922 by Tang Jiyao, was one of the earliest modern institutions of higher learning in southwest China; the campus stands on the former site of the Ming-Qing Yunnan Gongyuan (provincial examination hall), where Zhigong Hall (the main hall of the examination cells) still survives
- Wenlin Street & Wenhua Lane
Back lanes right next to the west gate of Yunnan University, named 'Wenlin' in the Qing dynasty for their proximity to the Confucian Temple school; today a coffee street where Kunming's young people and international students gather, with dozens of independent cafés, craft-beer bars and second-hand bookshops lining the slope
- Kunming Old Street (Wenming Street Historic District)
The last contiguous stretch of old streets left in Kunming's urban area, the commercial hub of the provincial capital since the Ming and Qing dynasties; Wenming Street, Guanghua Street and Yongdao Street criss-cross in a grid, with rows of shops under grey-tiled pitched roofs
- Golden Horse and Jade Rooster Archways
Two street-spanning memorial archways first built in the Ming Xuande era; the east arch stands by the "Golden Horse" and the west arch near the "Jade Rooster" — the source of Kunming's ancient name "Golden Horse and Jade Rooster". A spiritual emblem of the city, they were destroyed in modern times and rebuilt to their original look in 1997.