Briefing

"Shu" is the old name of Sichuan and its history and culture used to be no more than a Sphinx. Thanks to a great number of archaeological excavations in Sichuan in the modern era, people come to learn more and more about their remote past. These archaeological findings not only provide some proof to the research by archaeologists, but also add a lot of interests to the sightseeing of tourists. It can never be exaggerated to say that Sichuan is a new destination for archaeologists, museum-goers and tourist who are keen on Chinese ancient history and culture. What is worth a recommendation here are several ancient tombs, a number of noted museums, quite a few excavation sites. Among others, the Sanxingdui (Tri-star mound) in Guanghan city, near Chengdu is a must to be wrapped into this tour package of archaeological interest.

Highlights & Features

Sanxingdui (Tri-star Mound)

In Sanxingdui which is 40 kilometers south of Chengdu, two large sacrificial pits were found in 1986 boast the most important archaeological finds on the Sanxingdui Ruins for the past half century. The exposure of a large number of spectacular relics created a great sensation, making the Sanxingdui site well known to the world. Amongst the hoards of prize antiquities there are a variety of unique, grotesque bronze works, such as the stately standing figure, the freakish bronze mask and the towering bronze holy tree, which stand out as treasures unparalleled. In addition, the gold wares represented by the gleaming gold sculpture and the jade wares such as the tablets with heavy motifs turn out to be undeniable jewels never seen before.

The Sanxingdui Museum is a large-scale modern museum of history situated in the northeastern part of the state-protected Sanxingdui Ruins by the bank of the Yazi River in Guanghan city.

The museum has a total floorage of 4,000 square meters for the exhibition halls, in which the exhibits are lined up in an overall length of 800 meters. With the focus on the theme of the Ancient Town, Ancient State and Ancient Shu Culture, a general profile of the Sanxingdui Ruins is on view and over one thousand pieces of invaluable relics such as pottery, jade wares, bone wares, gold wares and bronze wares are on display.

It is here that the ancient people had their homestead; it is here that today's people find a place of interest to visit. With its arms wide open and the guides earnestly at your disposal, the Sanxingdui Museum welcomes friends both from home and abroad to this enigmatic Primeval Kingdom.

Zigong Dinosaur Excavation Sites

Located in the east part of Sichuan basin, it will take visitors 2-3hours to Zigong by bus. This city is famous for its Dinosaur Museum.

That was 150 million years ago. In this area there lived a large number of dinosaurs. According to the statistical data of disinterment, many kinds of dinosaurs, such as sauropodas, stegosaurs and pterosaurs etc. were unearthed in the range of only three square kilometers. Existent skeletal fossils of dinosaurs are over 20 meters high. Dinosaur Museum was built in the site of disinterment. The Modern building protects precious fossils of dinosaurs and preserves the original appearance of disinterment site. Its entire model and arrangement of lighting are excellent. Dinosaur Museum and Xiqin Quild hall are set off each other at a distance, and they have distinguishing features.

Sichuan Museum

The Sichuan museum is the largest provincial museum in China's south-west, with more than 150,000 items on display. For historians, the displays of tiled murals and frescoes taken from tombs are of great interest in their depictions of ancient daily activities from agriculture to dance.

Sichuan University Museum

Founded in 1914 by US scholar D.S. Dye, this museum underwent several closings and name changes before reopening under its current name in 1984. The four exhibition rooms display, on a rotating basis, a collection of over 40,000 items. The collection is particularly strong in the fields of ethnology, folklore and traditional arts. The ethnology room exhibits artifacts from the Yi, Qiang, Miao, Jingpo, Naxi and Tibetan cultures. The Chinese painting and calligraphy room displays works from the Tang (618-907A.D), Song (960-1279A.D.), Yuan (1271-1368A.D.), Ming (1368-1644A.D.) and Qing (1644-1911A.D.) dynasties. Some labels are in English.

• D1: Arrive Chengdu (air)
• D2: Chengdu / Shanxingdui (coach)
• D3: Chengdu / Zigong(Dinosaurs Museum) (coach)
• D4: Zigong / Dazu (coach)
• D5: Dazu / Chongqing (coach)
• D6: Chongqing departure (boat/air)