Shanxi Museum, Shanxi, China

560726Nicky_11 5:00 PM Nov 23, 2013

Don't Miss this Museum
This, along with the homey and similarly strong on provincial/regional history/culture museum at Lanzhou in Gansu, is one of the best Chinese museums. It should not be missed. If is very strong on presenting the history of the Jin dynasty -- based on marvelous bronzes and other artifacts dug up locally -- along with Buddhism, the Shanxi bankers, and the melting pot nature of Shanxi historically as northern tribes melted into Han China (or vice versa, if you adopt the ethnic tribal narrative. The English is adequate but the Chinese descriptions are better. There is a very good and unfortunately underutilized restaurant. This does not have the fine China of scroll paintings at the Xian and Shanghai museums, but you avoid the crowds and see unique material. Combine with Shanxi trips to Wutaishan and Pingyao, if you can. We spent four hours, cancelled our train tickets from Taiyuan and went back the second day for another four hours. Loved this museum.

4viola232 5:00 PM Feb 12, 2013

Its large
So I traveled to see this museum after hearing about it from my students and I have to say it was a nice trip. The musuem is free to those who come to visit. But make sure that you get there early so as to get a ticket (there are only 4000 a day to keep traffic down). The musuem is very beautifully built. The design of the building is the first thing that you see and it is unique to the city. To get to this musuem I suggest a taxi or a bus. The bus is cheaper but the taxi takes you right to the gate. So depending on your mood you should choose transportation accordingly. Also if you go in the winter there is not that many people there, but it is freezing cold so be prepared to run into the building for warmth. The musuem has many floors and many exhibits so be prepared to spend a lot of time there. There is a tea room if you want a snack or a drink, but if you plan to spend a lot of time here you need to pack some food and a drink (the tea room is pricey). The exhibits have signs on all archways so you know what you are going to see when you enter a room, but that does not mean that the signs on the artifacts are in English. The signs on the items themselves are sometimes in English but most of the time its all Chinese. The items in the musuem are from all over China, but the main items in the musuem are from Shanxi province and they tell the history of this province. If you love history this is a musuem that one has to see.