China Guide
Jiangsu and Zhejiang
The Municipal Museum
Opening time: Daily 8am–5pm
Price: ¥30
Address: Jianye Lu; bus #4 from Fuzi Miao
The former Ming palace, the Chaotian Gong, now contains the tiny Municipal Museum, home to a few excellent bronzes. Built in 1384, the Chaotian Gong was used by nobles to worship their ancestors, as well as for audiences with the emperor – hence the name Chaotian, meaning Worshipping Heaven. Later it became a seat of learning and a temple to Confucius. The large square that houses the palace, bounded by a high vermilion wall on one side and a gateway protected by tigers on the other, is supposedly the site of the ancient Ye Cheng (Foundry City), built in the fifth century BC. During the Han dynasty, peasants gathered here to offer sacrifices to heaven or ask for a fruitful harvest. Antiques, mostly fake, are for sale in the market in the front courtyard.