[2025 Guangzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Southern Han Mausoleums Museum (Updated Jun)

#gzonbudget Perched in Guangzhou’s Panyu University City, the South Han Deling and Kangling Tomb Museum stands where two royal tombs of the South Han Dynasty (917–971 AD) — the mausoleums of royal brothers Liu Yin (Deling) and Liu Yan (Kangling) — were unearthed in the early 2000s . I arrived mid-morning and spent about 1–1½ hours exploring. The museum’s layout is simple yet evocative: two brick burial chambers with preserved stone structures and artifacts. The Deling Tomb, larger and more monumental, highlights royal burial architecture in Lingnan, while the Kangling Tomb reveals a unique combined altar-chamber design . Finds include exquisite celadon ware, glazed pottery in fruit shapes (pineapple, banana, persimmon…), and wooden or ceramic “spirit objects” (mingqi) that reflect Tang-to-Song burial customs . Admission & Practical Info: • 🕒 Hours: Daily, 09:00–17:00; confirm local closures  • 💴 Fees: Modest (typically CNY10–20); free/discounts for students, seniors—check onsite • 🚗 Access: University City area, Panyu District, Guangzhou; near Guoyi West Rd, Metro/Bus connections  • ♿ Facilities: Fully accessible, bilingual labels, simple visitor centre; ~1 hr for full visit Why It’s Worth Visiting: • 🏺 Rare South Han royal tombs: One of the few royal burial sites from the Ten Kingdoms period in the region, offering rare architectural insight  • 🍈 Playful funerary items: Ceramic fruit shapes signal a southern twist in burial traditions and represent evolutions in mingqi culture  • 🧭 Funerary architecture: Kangling’s altar-tomb layout raises questions about evolving funerary practices in Lingnan during the period  • 🔍 Local historical breakthrough: Excavated in 2003–4, these tombs offer a glimpse into regional power and cultural life during the Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms Final Thoughts: The Deling & Kangling Tomb Museum offers an intimate journey into southern China’s royal past—compact, richly atmospheric, and culturally revealing. It’s a low-key yet rewarding stop for history enthusiasts, shedding light on a less-known epoch of Chinese royalty and ritual. Best combined with a broader Panyu cultural walk or visit to nearby archaeological and green spaces.

Citywalk Guide 🔥The popular attractions are all crowded with people... Reverse travel is the right way to explore Escape the crowds! Wake up naturally before going out Guangzhou University Town Citywalk: fewer people, beautiful scenery Avoid all the queues at the check-in points and take blockbuster photos that make you feel like you have the whole place to yourself. . 👣Citywalk route Guangdong Provincial Museum of Chinese Medicine → Central Lake Park → Southern Han Dynasty Mausoleum Museum → Liang Mingcheng Sculpture Park . 🌿Guangdong Provincial Museum of Chinese Medicine The giant medicinal specimen wall is a shocking backdrop There are hardly any people, so you can take photos that make you feel like you have the whole place to yourself. 🌳Central Lake Park Cycling 🚲 or walking along the 3 km lake shore is super relaxing You can also bring a picnic mat to lie down and chill out 🏕️Liang Mingcheng Sculpture Park Giant sculptures with a full sense of art! You can also have a picnic, camp... Experience the joy of owning the entire riverside lawn . 🏨Aloft Guangzhou University Park Don't be a special forces tourist, just relax This time, I chose to stay one night at a Marriott hotel The hotel decoration is young, fashionable and full of vitality 🛏️I stayed in the Aloft Room with a king bed You can also see the river view from the room Lie in bed and enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the window while watching TV The hotel also has a gym, swimming pool, food delivery robots and other facilities 🍲I chose Yunshan Shiyi Chinese Restaurant for dinner Authentic Cantonese cuisine with great service The taste and presentation are good, and the meal was wonderful 🍳The buffet breakfast is very rich Various stir-fries, soup noodles, breads, fruits, drinks, etc. 🍻Have a drink at the W xyz bar in the evening Listen to music, play billiards, and play a board game The main focus is on leisure, eating, lying down, relaxing and vacationing

Recently, the "Central Plains Voyage: Gongyi Kiln and the Maritime Silk Road" exhibition officially opened at the Nhan Han Mausoleum Museum. A total of 131 pieces (sets) of Gongyi Kiln ceramics unearthed in Henan, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou are on display, including national first-class cultural relics such as the tri-color duck holding plum blossom cup and the tri-color carved cup, as well as white porcelain, Tang Sancai, and Tang Qinghua unearthed from the Huangye Kiln and Baihe Kiln in Gongyi. This is the first time that special cultural relics from Gongyi Kiln have been exhibited in Guangzhou. The exhibition is hosted by the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism (Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics) and the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, and organized by the Guangzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, the Nhan Han Mausoleum Museum, and the Maritime Silk Road (Guangzhou) Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management Research Center. The visit takes about half an hour.

#Guangzhou Attractions The Southern Han Dynasty Second Tombs Museum exhibits a large number of precious ancient cultural relics, which gave me a deeper understanding of history. Walking into the museum, the various cultural relics on display made me feel as if I had traveled back to the Southern Han Dynasty, and felt the prosperity and culture of that era. 📜✨ The exhibitions in the museum are beautifully designed, and each artifact has a detailed explanation, which allows me to understand their historical background and cultural value. This learning process is very interesting. 📚🔍 Quietly admiring the exquisite pottery and weapons in the exhibition hall, these cultural relics are not only works of art, but also witnesses of history, allowing me to feel the wisdom and creativity of the ancients. ⚔️🎨The museum's environment is elegant and comfortable, suitable for exploring with family and friends to enhance each other's cultural literacy and communication. 👨👩👧👦💬

🌞🌄 Dear friends, hello! Today I want to take everyone to explore a mysterious treasure in Guangzhou—the Nanhai Erling Museum. Here, not only is there rich historical culture, but also super interesting interactive experiences! 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ First, we arrived at the entrance of the museum. As soon as we entered, we were attracted by the ancient atmosphere here. Climbing up the stone steps, we officially began today's adventure. 👀🔍 The first stop, we came to the 'Nanhai History Exhibition Hall'. Through rich graphic displays, it introduces us to the historical evolution and cultural characteristics of the Nanhai Dynasty. It makes one deeply interested in this ancient dynasty. 📸✨ Next, we came to the 'Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall'. Here, precious cultural relics unearthed from the Nanhai Erling are displayed, each exuding a historical aura. My favorite is the exquisite ceramic vessels, their patterns and colors are so unique, making one intoxicated. 🎮💡 What surprised me the most is that the museum also has a 'Virtual Reality Experience Zone'. Putting on VR glasses, we seem to travel back to the Nanhai Dynasty, personally experiencing the prosperity and bustle of that era. This experience is really amazing! 🌸🌼 After visiting the Nanhai Erling Museum, I was deeply attracted by its historical heritage and cultural charm.

🏛️ The Southern Han Dynasty Tombs, namely the Mausoleums of King De and King Kang, are located within the Xiaoguwei Guangzhou University Town in Guangdong, Guangzhou. They are the iconic historical sites of the Southern Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. The Mausoleum of King Kang is the first of its kind discovered from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, maintaining the only complete layout from that era to this day. 🌀 The museum is designed with the concept of 'Heaven is round, Earth is square,' and themed 'Southern Charm · Harmonious Courtyard,' creating a commemorative building full of Lingnan regional characteristics. The color scheme of black, white, gray, and red, along with the perfect integration of modern architectural materials and techniques with traditional elements, allows visitors to feel the grandeur of ancient architecture while touching the pulse of the future. 🎨 Exhibition highlights: 1️⃣ 'Between Cloudy Mountains and Pearl Waters - Archaeological Discoveries in Guangzhou' takes you through the human society in the Guangzhou area during the pre-Qin period, as well as the changes and historical and cultural accumulation of Guangzhou city over the past 2200 years. 2️⃣ 'Han Style and Tang Charm - History and Culture of the Southern Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties' vividly displays the history and cultural aspects of the Southern Han Dynasty through real objects, photos, videos, and multimedia interactions. 📅 Opening hours: 9:00—17:00 (entry stops at 16:15), closed on Mondays (except for statutory holidays and special circumstances). 🎫 Visiting method: Admission is free, tickets are obtained with a valid ID, and visitors enter the museum after a security check with their tickets. 🗣️ Guided tour service: The museum offers free Chinese-language guided tours at fixed times and locations, with explanations available at 10:00 in the morning and 15:00 in the afternoon. The meeting point is at the entrance of the Exhibition Center Hall. 🚇 Transportation: Take the subway lines 4 or 7 to the South of University Town D exit, transfer to bus 332 to Guangmei Road Station, and walk to the museum.

【Nanhan Second Mausoleum】 refers to the De Mausoleum of Liu Yin, the Lie Emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms' 【Nanhan Kingdom】, and the Kang Mausoleum of Liu Yan, the Gao Emperor, which were excavated in 2003-2004 in the current Guangzhou University City, and the 【Nanhan Second Mausoleum Museum】 is a museum built on these two sites. I used to think that compared to cultural relics from other provinces, Guangzhou's cultural relics are really not worth seeing because they are not so exquisite. But this time I have a new view on this issue—— In the 【inconvenient transportation + resource-poor thousands of years ago】, the Lingnan ancestors have given themselves the best life within their abilities and cognitive range. If time allows, it is highly recommended to include this place and the previously introduced 【Shisanhang Museum】 in the tour itinerary to feel the changes brought to Guangzhou by trade and openness from ancient times to modern times. PS: If you come to Guangzhou for tourism and want to see more history, this place is more worth visiting than the Guangdong Provincial Museum. 📝 Check-in tips: ⚱️ The entire museum is divided into the 【Museum Area】 and the 【Kang Mausoleum Site Area】. ⚱️ The two largest exhibition halls are 'Between Clouds and Pearl Rivers - Archaeological Discoveries in Guangzhou', which displays cultural relics excavated in Guangzhou over the years. They may not be gorgeous, but the text introduction is very detailed, and it has restored the life of the ancient Cantonese. 💛 The exhibits include 【Yue-style and Han-style utensils】, and by comparing them, you can find that Guangdong people have always been very practical. 💛 More noticeable exhibits also include 【pottery figurines】. Compared with other realistic-style figurines, these pottery figurines unearthed in Guangzhou are very abstract and distinctive. ⚱️ Another permanent exhibition hall is 'Han Wind and Tang Rhyme - The History and Culture of the Five Dynasties and Nanhan', friends who did not know much about the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Nanhan Kingdom can visit here. ⚱️ The special exhibition hall on the third floor is currently exhibiting 'Drunk on Sheng Songs and Taiping - A Tang County Master and Her Era' (until 3.10) and 'Riding a Crane to Yangzhou - Yang Wu and the Yangzhou City in the Southern Tang Period' (until 4.14), and I will write a separate article about the former later. ⚱️ The 【Public Archaeological Activity Center】 on the first floor allows children to experience archaeology and cultural relic restoration. The 【Simulated Archaeological Experience Area】 is only open from 9:30-11:30 and 14:30-16:30, with a limit of 20 people/30min each time. 📌 【Follow the guide for a tour of the exhibition.】 The two guides I met on the day were both very detailed and patient with children's questions, both were good. 🎫Information: 🆓, but you need to make a reservation at 【Guangzhou Archaeology Nanhan Second Mausoleum Museum】 🕘 Opening hours: 9:00-17:30 (entry stops at 17:00, closed on Mondays, except for statutory holidays) 🚗 Transportation information: 📌 Although the museum is far from the city, it is not remote, and there are nearby subway and bus stations. 🚇 You can take the subway to 【University City North Station】 and then take a taxi to the 【southeast gate of the museum】. 🚙 There is a ground parking lot in the south square of the museum for self-driving tourists. 📌 The 【Kang Mausoleum Site Area is next to the southeast gate of the museum】, interested friends can walk there on their own.