Sanxing Dui Bowuguan

Description:

• This modern, spiral-shaped museum, opened in 1997, houses one of the most remarkable collections of ancient sculpture, masks, and ritual bronzes in China -- don't miss it. Discovered in 1986, these otherworldly, artistically sophisticated tomb relics have sparked debate about the origins of the culture that produced them (as far back as the 14th c. B.C.) and its connection, if any, to the later Shu culture. The museum brochure equates the Sanxing Dui civilization with the Shu, but some scholars doubt this, and there are many unanswered questions. For example, why is there no mention of this culture in historical records? When and why did the civilization disappear? Why do many of the masks and human busts seem to have been burned and deliberately shattered -- quite possibly by the very people who created them?

  Still, it's a marvelous collection. Highlights include a delightful ornament-bearing bronze holy tree supported by three kneeling guards and crowned with hawk-beaked birds. The piece most emblematic of the Sanxing Dui is a 2.4m (8-ft.) standing bronze figure thought to be a sorcerer. Barefoot and standing on a pedestal of zoomorphic design, the creature has a long forehead, oversize eyes, and ears shaped like butterfly wings. Many of the bronze heads wear masks of pure gold. There is also an impressive gold-covered stick believed to be the ritual wand of a shaman. There are photos of the excavation process, English labels and, supposedly, an English-speaking guide on duty for ¥100 ($13/£6.50). Give yourself about 2 hours to explore the museum.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010