Sanxingdui Museum 三星堆博物馆Sānxīngduī Bówùguǎn

Why go to Sanxingdui Museum

More than 3,000 years ago, a kingdom on the Chengdu Plain cast bronzes unlike anything else in ancient China: huge masks with protruding eyes, a life-size standing figure and a sacred tree nearly 4 metres tall. A vast new museum hall opened beside the excavation site in 2023, displaying more than 1,500 pieces, including gold masks and other treasures from six further sacrificial pits dug since 2020. In the restoration hall you can watch conservators piecing together the latest finds.

The story

A farmer turned up jade objects here in 1927, but the sensation came in 1986, when workers uncovered two pits of deliberately broken and burned bronzes, gold, jade and ivory. The culture left no written records, so nobody knows for certain who the people of Sanxingdui were or why they buried their treasures.

What to see at Sanxingdui Museum

• Century Dream 世纪逐梦: The opening exhibition on the ground floor of the new hall, with texts and pictures on the archaeology of Sanxingdui. A glasses-free 3D display puts you at the edge of an excavation pit as a relic is uncovered.
• Majestic Capital 巍然王都: Also on the ground floor, seven sections on gold working, bronze casting, ritual and society in the ancient Shu kingdom. This is where the bronze heads, masks and gold masks are shown.
• Heaven, Earth, Man and God 天地人神: Upstairs, seven sections of ritual vessels and sacred objects. Look for the bronze altar, a bird-footed deity and a kneeling figure on a beast, each reassembled from fragments found in different pits.
• Cultural Relics Restoration Hall 文物保护与修复馆: Left in place beside the museum buildings, where you can watch the restoration of finds from the newer pits. It is a separate hall with its own hours, so check it is open on your day.

How to visit Sanxingdui Museum

Follow the exhibitions in order: Century Dream and Majestic Capital on the ground floor, then up the escalator to Heaven, Earth, Man and God. Allow two to three hours for the main halls, with the restoration hall next door as an extra stop. Half a day is enough for all of it.

How to get to Sanxingdui Museum

Trains from Chengdu East reach Guanghan North or Sanxingdui station in about 20–25 minutes, then it's a 10–15-minute taxi ride to the museum; taxis can be scarce at busy times. Direct tourist buses from central Chengdu take about 1.5 hours.

Where to stay

Most visitors stay in Chengdu and make the trip as a day out, as the train takes only about 20–25 minutes. If you want an early start or a quieter evening, Guanghan city is the nearest base.

What to eat

• Guanghan cured rabbit 广汉缠丝兔: A cured rabbit from Guanghan, counted among the town's three best-known cured meats and protected as a geographical-indication product.
• Lianshan twice-cooked pork 连山回锅肉: Big slices of pork belly stir-fried with chilli, from the nearby town of Lianshan, where the dish dates from the 1980s and its cooking is listed as local intangible heritage.

Tips for visiting Sanxingdui Museum

• Entry is by real-name advance booking through the museum's official channels, with tickets released five days ahead; they sell out at weekends and holidays, so book early and bring the passport you booked with.
• Allow 2–3 hours, and come on a weekday if you can: weekends and public holidays are very crowded.

Nearby

• Chengdu Giant Panda Base 成都大熊猫繁育研究基地 30 km
  Watch giant pandas munch bamboo and tumble about among the trees
• Wenshu Monastery 文殊院 40 km
  An active Buddhist monastery of incense-filled courtyards, a teahouse and vegetarian food
• Kuanzhai Alley 宽窄巷子 40 km
  Three restored Qing-era lanes of courtyard gateways, teahouses and Sichuan snacks
• People's Park & Heming Teahouse 人民公园与鹤鸣茶社 40 km
  Bamboo chairs, jasmine tea and roving ear cleaners in Chengdu's favourite park
• Luodai Ancient Town 洛带古镇 40 km
  A Hakka market town on Chengdu's edge, with grand guild halls built by Qing-era settlers
• Du Fu Thatched Cottage 杜甫草堂 40 km
  Bamboo groves and plum blossom where Du Fu, China's 'Poet-Sage', once lived

Also within 30 km: Luocheng Ruins and Fanghu Park 雒城遗址（房湖公园） (under 10 km), Longju Temple 龙居寺 (under 10 km), Huijian Temple 慧剑寺 (10 km), Fenghuang Lake, Qingbaijiang 凤凰湖 (10 km), Yijiaheba Rural Tourism Area, Guanghan 易家河坝 (20 km), Baoguang Temple & Gui Lake 宝光寺与桂湖 (20 km).

Trips with Sanxingdui Museum

• Sichuan in a week: Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei and Dujiangyan 7 days · Chengdu, Leshan, Emeishan and Dujiangyan

On the map

Open Sanxingdui Museum on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia (Chinese)