Guanghan Sanxingdui Museum

Welcome to the Sanxingdui Museum, a gateway to one of the most extraordinary and baffling archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Located in Guanghan, just 40 kilometers north of Chengdu, this site was hidden for over…

Our exploration begins with the site's name: Sanxingdui, which literally translates to 'Three Star Piles.' This refers to three large mounds of earth that were once thought to be natural hills but were later identified as part of…

Step into the chamber of the 'Majestic Capital' to witness the museum's most iconic treasures: the bronze masks. These figures are startlingly different from any other ancient Chinese art, featuring 'enormous almond-shaped eyes,…

Standing at over 3.9 meters tall, the 'Bronze Tree' is one of the museum's most spectacular and complex finds. It is thought to represent the 'connection between the heavens, earth, and underworld,' a cosmic pillar central to Shu…

In this hall, we encounter the 'Giant Bronze Statue,' a figure standing over 2.6 meters tall (including its base). It is the largest and best-preserved bronze standing figure of its kind in the world. …

While the larger-than-life statues capture the imagination, the 'world of humans' is also represented through smaller, intriguing objects. One of the most famous is the 'almost perfectly round wheel-shaped object,' often called…

As we conclude our walk through the exhibits, we visit the 'Glass House' and the 'Restoration Hall,' which offer a behind-the-scenes look at modern archaeology. The glass house was built over new excavation sites discovered in…

As we exit the Sanxingdui Museum, we are left with more questions than answers. Who were these people? …