Hunan Travel Notes: Changsha Museum
Around 1 p.m. on March 18, 2021, I came out of the Hunan Provincial Museum and ate a bowl of noodles on the roadside outside. At 1:45 p.m., I took bus No. 2 at Xiangya Road intersection to Beichen bus stop. After getting off, I crossed an overpass and arrived at Changsha Museum. Remember this rule: on rainy days, go to museums.
The new Changsha Museum is located in the Binjiang Cultural Park at the Xinhe Delta, Kaifu District, Changsha City, Hunan Province. On December 28, 2015, after years of preparation and construction, the new Changsha Museum opened to the public with a brand-new appearance.
The logo of Changsha Museum is derived from the shape of its treasure, the large Shang-dynasty bronze nao (bell) with elephant patterns, symbolizing that the museum is a hall for preserving and displaying historical material culture and memory. At the same time, it resembles the letter 'M' of the English word 'Museum', indicating that modern museum construction and cultural dissemination should embrace internationalization and aim for international quality.
From the outside, Changsha Museum looks like an open gate. Its geographical location is at the confluence of the Xiang River and the Liuyang River, where the two cultural veins of Huxiang culture intersect. History and the present converge here, opening the door to exploring civilization and increasing wisdom. Changsha Museum strives to become one of the new symbols of Huxiang culture.
The new building has five floors, with a total area of 24,000 square meters and an exhibition area of over 9,000 square meters. It houses nearly 50,000 cultural relics, among which the Shang and Zhou bronzes, Chu and Han artifacts, and Changsha kiln ceramics are particularly renowned both domestically and internationally.
The four exhibition halls on the first and second floors display the permanent exhibitions. Arranged chronologically, they feature 2,000 precious artifacts to showcase Changsha's ancient and modern history, telling the stories of the people of Changsha. The two permanent exhibitions are:
Xiangjiang Flowing North – Exhibition of Changsha Ancient History and Culture
Changsha, a city thriving due to its cultural fortune. Since the times of Qu Yuan and Jia Yi, a multitude of sages have come, gathering here, with talents emerging in succession. It enjoys the reputation of being 'the home of Qu Yuan and Jia Yi, the Zhusi of Xiaoxiang' and boasts the situation of 'Only Chu has talent, and it is most abundant here.' The Huxiang culture formed over thousands of years has cultivated Changsha's humanistic spirit of 'concern for the world and daring to be first.' 'Xiangjiang Flowing North – Exhibition of Changsha Ancient History and Culture' takes you to appreciate Changsha's past.
Striking the Waves Midstream – Exhibition of Changsha Modern History and Culture
After the Opium War, Tao Shu, He Changling, Wei Yuan, and other pragmatic sages who emerged from Yuelu Academy looked to the world and issued the era's cry: 'Learn the advanced technology from the West to counter the West.' Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Guo Songtao, and other ministers of the restoration sought to strengthen the country and achieve wealth, launching the Westernization Movement and advancing China's modernization process. Tan Sitong, Tang Caichang, and other reformist leaders guided the New Deal, participated in the Reform Movement, and sacrificed for the nation. Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren, and other founding fathers of the Xinhai Revolution established the Huaxing Association, co-founded the Tongmenghui, overthrew the monarchy, and created the Republic of China, with great achievements. Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, He Shuheng, Liu Shaoqi, and other revolutionary leaders, cherishing the great ideal of 'transforming China and the world,' actively explored new paths for the Chinese revolution, and initiated the grand undertaking of founding the Communist Party of China and establishing the People's Republic of China. 'Striking the Waves Midstream – Exhibition of Changsha Modern History and Culture' lets you experience the magnificent hundred years of Changsha.
There are also two special exhibition halls on the second floor. Among them, 'Dragon Soaring in the Heavens – Special Exhibition of Imperial Porcelain from Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties' displays 128 pieces of archaeological materials and heirloom treasures featuring dragon motifs from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties spanning 650 years. Among them, 42 are complete vessels, 60 are restored pieces, and 26 are fragments, with a relatively complete chronological sequence. It mainly reflects the era characteristics, patterns of change, and other archaeological connotations of imperial dragon-patterned porcelain from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It aims to show a glimpse of the rich social implications of Chinese 'dragon culture' and the aesthetics of national totems from the perspective of imperial porcelain, while also offering a peek into imperial ceramics. Another exhibition, 'Zhang of the South and Pu of the North – Early Calligraphy and Painting of Zhang Daqian and Pu Xinyu,' I skimmed through it quickly because I had seen these works in other museums.
After finishing the exhibitions, it was already 4:20 p.m. I left the exhibition hall and headed to Metro Line 1, Beichen Delta Station. At 4:40 p.m., I took Metro Line 1 and then transferred to Line 2 to reach Orange Island Head, planning to enjoy the night view of Orange Island in the evening.
