China Guide
The Northwest
The Gansu Provincial Museum
Opening time: Mon– Sat 9am– noon & 2.30–5.30pm
Price: ¥30
Address: Xijin Xi Lu (bus #1, #6 or trolleybus #31)
The Gansu Provincial Museum occupies a boxy Stalinist edifice opposite the Youyi hotel. It has an interesting collection, divided between natural resources of Gansu (including a mammoth skeleton) and historical finds. There are some remarkable ceramics dating from the Neolithic age as well as a huge collection of wooden tablets and carvings from the Han dynasty – priceless sources for studying the politics, culture and economy of the period. The bronze Flying Horse of Wuwei, 2000 years old and still with its accompanying procession of horses and chariots, is the highlight, however – note the stylish chariots for top officials with round seats and sunshades. The fourteen-centimetre-tall horse, depicted with one front hoof stepping on the back of a flying swallow, was discovered in a Han-dynasty tomb in Wuwei some thirty years ago.