Brief information on Gansu Provincial Museum  

The Gansu Provincial Museum, the largest and most comprehensive museum in the province, is situated in Lanzhou’s Qilihe District. Constructed in 1956, the museum has a total area of 18,000 square meters, and is well worth a visit.

The museum consists of three two-floor wings, which are connected by corridors and contain a total exhibition area of 7,500 square meters. It is further divided into natural resources section downstairs and historical exhibits upstairs. The museum has five main exhibition halls: Gansu Historical Relics, Gansu Natural Resources, Jiayuguan Murals of the Wei and Jin Period, the Yellow River Ancient Elephants, and the Red Army’s Long March via Gansu.

There are 75,000 cultural relics and antiques in the museum, including over 110 pieces of first class antiques such as Gansu color-painted pottery and bamboo slips on medication of the Han era. The most notable item is the bronze Galloping Horse of Gansu, which is known in Chinese as “Horse with a Hoof on a Swallow.” Made during the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD), the sculpture was excavated in 1969 in Wuwei City, Gansu Province. It depicts a galloping horse with its tail waving, head raised and three hoofs in the air. Amazingly, its fourth hoof appears to have just landed on the back of a flying bird. Both the bird and the horse are jolting their heads to find out what has happened. The statue vividly depicts the bird and horse, and is remarkable for both its structure and bronze artistry. There is no denying that the rare treasure has a high position among the antiques collected in the museum.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Gansu Provincial Museum if you plan to visit Gansu Provincial Museum and have language problems.

   

Hours: 09:10-11:30, 14:40-17:30 (Tuesday-Saturday)
Address: No. 3, Xijin West Rd.
Transportation: Buses: 1, 31, 32, 41, 51, 53, 58