Travel Notes of Hunan: Hunan Provincial Museum
At 12:20 PM on March 17, 2021, we took the K147 train to Changsha and arrived at Changsha Station at 5:30 PM. After exiting the station, we took Metro Line 2 (fare 2 yuan) to Furong Square, and walked a short distance to our booked inn, the Home Inn Furong Square Metro Station Branch. We had a double bed room with breakfast for two, at a room rate of 126 yuan.
Later, I learned that in Changsha, people over 65 can ride the metro for free by showing their ID card and using the green channel. However, I did not enjoy this benefit during my time in Changsha—initially because I was unaware, and later because I deliberately overlooked it.
This is the only city I have visited with such a perk, and it deserves praise. Another benefit is in Hangzhou metro, where the first six rides using Alipay on each phone are free—a warm and commendable policy as well.
The next day, March 18, the weather in Changsha was still not good, but we planned to visit the Hunan Provincial Museum. It must be noted that although visiting the museum is free, advance reservation is required; tickets are not issued at the window. We had successfully reserved online in advance. After breakfast on the 18th, we took Bus No. 3 from Furong Square to the Provincial Museum, arriving at 8:40 AM, where people were already lining up. By nearly 9:00, the queue stretched dozens of meters, showing that the Hunan Provincial Museum is a very popular attraction. Many visitors in line were unaware of the need to reserve in advance and, with the help of staff, made on-site reservations. Since it was not peak season, same-day reservations were still possible. However, if it were a weekend or holiday, the daily limit of 9,000 people might not allow everyone to get tickets, so it is safer to reserve ahead.
The museum opened at 9:00. We entered with our ID cards, passed security, showed our health codes, and wore masks. Note that people over 65 have a green channel and do not need to queue. That day, we had purchased a ticket online for a special exhibition on embroidery and celebrity items from the Qing Dynasty and Republican era. Upon entering the museum, we wanted to see it first, but staff told us that it was the opening day and a ceremony would be held first; the exhibition would open to the public after 10:00.
The reputation and collections of the Hunan Provincial Museum rank among the best in the country, with rich artifacts and acclaim from north to south. Especially after several years of renovation and re-exhibition, it reopened on November 29, 2017, raising great expectations.
The Hunan Provincial Museum is the largest historical and art museum in Hunan Province, covering an area of 49,000 square meters with a total building area of 91,000 square meters. It is one of the first batch of national first-class museums and one of the eight national key museums jointly built by the central and local governments.
Since its establishment, the Hunan Provincial Museum has been committed to preserving and passing on excellent historical culture, integrating artifact collection, preservation, research, exhibition, education, and service. Over the years, as a cultural landmark of Changsha, it has attracted thousands of visitors and is a national key museum representing Chinese regional civilization, an important window for understanding the process of Hunan civilization and the mysteries of Hunan culture.
The museum currently holds more than 180,000 artifacts, especially the artifacts unearthed from the Mawangdui Han tombs, Shang and Zhou bronze vessels, Chu artifacts, ceramics and paintings from various dynasties, and modern artifacts. To fully display these treasures in this art palace, the museum staff scientifically and deeply explore the connotation of the artifacts, using modern exhibition art to carefully create two basic exhibitions: "Changsha Mawangdui Han Tomb Exhibition" and "Hunan People – Exhibition of Sanxiang Historical Culture", as well as four special exhibition halls for bronze, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, and crafts to showcase excellent cultural heritage. In addition, the museum continuously introduces and presents diverse temporary exhibitions to comprehensively display and spread Hunan culture to the public at home and abroad, introducing world civilizations and excellent cultures.
By 1:00 PM, we had seen the Hunan Historical and Cultural Exhibition, the Changsha Mawangdui Han Tomb Exhibition, the Bronze Hall, the Ceramics Hall, and the paid special exhibition hall. We basically covered all the museum's collections, enjoyed them thoroughly, and gained a lot. After the visit, we had a bowl of noodles at a restaurant outside the door, then headed to the next stop, the Changsha Museum, to continue our tour.
