Anhui Museum (New Building)

Today's visit to the Anhui Provincial Museum was a fantastic experience, especially thanks to our guide, Liu Ruya. Her explanations were not only professional and detailed but also lively and engaging, making the historical background, stories of the artifacts, and cultural connotations easy to understand and captivating. She patiently answered everyone's questions during the tour, displaying a friendly and attentive attitude, which deepened our understanding and appreciation of Anhui's history and culture. This guided tour significantly enhanced the entire visit, making it a wonderful experience that combined knowledge with warmth.

Guide Ni's explanations were truly wonderful! At the Anhui Provincial Museum, he not only clearly and thoroughly explained the wisdom of the Hui-style architecture's layout—"backed by mountains and facing water, gathering the morning sun"—but also eloquently described the characteristics and cultural connotations of three types of architecture: residences, ancestral halls, and memorial archways. From his explanations, one could feel his profound understanding of Huizhou culture. Following his narration, it was as if one were personally strolling through the villages and alleys of ancient Huizhou, seeing the mountains and waters reflecting the architecture, and understanding the family stories and cultural heritage behind every brick and tile. I highly recommend everyone listen to Guide Ni's explanations—they provide a systematic overview of knowledge while remaining vivid and detailed, truly achieving a profound yet accessible approach, leaving you with a wealth of knowledge!

Unique Architectural Style: The new Anhui Provincial Museum's architecture embodies the distinctive Hui-style architectural style, characterized by interconnected elements and a harmonious integration with the surrounding environment, offering a visually appealing blend of antiquity and modernity. Rich Collection: The museum currently houses over 310,000 artifacts, encompassing Shang and Zhou bronzes, Han dynasty stone carvings, ancient ceramics, Song and Yuan dynasty gold and silver wares, and the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper). Among its treasures are the Caster's Great Ding and the "Zhang Cheng" carved lacquer box with cloud patterns, both of immense historical and artistic value. Outstanding Exhibitions: The museum has presented numerous high-quality exhibitions, such as the "Anhui Civilization History Exhibition," which comprehensively showcases the cultural development of Anhui from ancient times to the present. Thematic exhibitions like "Ancient Huizhou Architecture" and "Anhui's Four Treasures of the Study" delve into the unique local culture of Anhui. Several of these exhibitions have won awards as among the top ten museum exhibitions in China. Excellent Cultural and Creative Products and Services: The Anhui Provincial Museum offers a rich variety of cultural and creative products, such as a beverage inspired by "a belly full of ink" and a refrigerator magnet depicting a Western Zhou Dynasty "router," combining creativity and practicality. At the same time, the museum has also introduced measures such as simplified entry procedures and customized services for different groups, enhancing the visitor experience.

Compared with its stereotyped and dull exterior design, the collection of the new Anhui Museum is worth a visit. First of all, in addition to the history of human civilization shared with all large museums, some of the local characteristic exhibition halls of Anhui Museum, such as Huizhou Architectural Art, Jianghuai Treasures, Four Treasures of the Study, Xin'an School of Painting, etc., are also unique choices. Of course, Anhui Museum also holds some special exhibitions from time to time, so it is a rare experience to encounter the capital of the world by chance. Finally, because Anhui is located in the former land of Chu and Wu, Anhui Museum has a number of national treasures, such as the Zhuke Ding, Wu Wang Guangjian, the gold-buckled agate bowl, the cloud-patterned five-column vessel, etc. Interested tourists may wish to pay more attention to them.

Anhui Museum, located in Shushan District, Hefei City, is a large comprehensive museum that integrates the past and the present, and integrates collection, research and exhibition. The architectural design of the new museum is also very distinctive, ingeniously integrating the traditional Hui style of architecture with modern fashion elements, becoming a new landmark in Hefei. The exhibition hall now has an Anhui History and Culture Exhibition, which comprehensively displays the cultural development of Anhui from ancient times to the present according to the timeline, which is systematic and wonderful.

Jianghuai Treasures Hall: It's a pity. I came to Ambo specially, but I missed the upgrade of the Chu Culture Bronze Hall. This hall exhibits several objects related to the Year of the Snake, and the romantic characteristics of Chu witchcraft can still be seen: the red bird grabbing the snake, snake pattern, eagle grabbing the snake, snake-shaped wings, etc. The three bronze figures reminded me of Sanxingdui.

The new building of Anhui Museum (Shushan Building) is good overall. It is spacious, the exhibition layout is simple, and there are not many tourists. Free explanations are available in each exhibition hall at different time periods. The five-story exhibition hall of the Four Treasures of the Study is particularly beautiful. It is a pity that the History of Anhui Civilization (II) was closed for renovation, so we missed the opportunity to see famous cultural relics such as the Zhuke Cauldron.

I entered the museum at 9 o'clock and came out at 1:30. It was a pity that the two main exhibition halls of the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties were under maintenance, so I didn't see the treasures of the museum, the Chu King Cauldron and the bronze tax-free certificate. However, the collections inside are also worthy of a "museum" (not as good as Shanxi and Nanjing), such as Dazexiang, Huainanzi, the defeat at Wujiang, and Cao Cao's grandfather's silver jade clothes, which are like the history on paper projected into reality. There is also a layer of explanation of Hui style architecture, and the volunteers talked about it in detail for more than an hour. There are also Xuan paper and She inkstones, which are all products of Anhui, and they have a deep cultural heritage. I took pictures of the bronze router (isn't this the same as pottery? Haha) and the gold-rimmed agate bowl, which are still good.