Why is Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King special?
With an area of 1, 4000 square meters, the Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King in Guangzhou possess the history of over 2,000 years. It is well known for its well-preserved tomb and funerary antiquity from the Han Dynasty, as well as elegant and grand architecture of south China.
The owner of the tomb is the second King of Nanyue State named Zhao Mei in the Western Han Dynasty (206B.C.-24A.D.). The tomb is made up of 750 huge stones with colorful murals with the depth of 20 meters underground. Over 1,000 pieces of cultural relics, bronze ware and terra cotta ware feature the Yue Culture of south China (Nanyue Culture).
Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King Highlights
As one of the 80 famous museums in the world, the Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King owns 10 exhibition halls, with the highlight of a silk-jade garment made up of 2,291 pieces of jade. Jade garments with pieces connected by gold, silver, or copper are not uncommon; however this garment with jade pieces connected by silk is the only one of this kind in the world. In addition, the style of buttons down the front is unique among unearthed jade garments. This silk-sewn-jade garment represents the early development of jade garments as well as development of the Nanyue culture.
The display of the Museum reflects all-roundly the situation in society, politics, military, economy and culture during the time in the Nanyue Kingdom in the western Han Dynasty in China. Besides Chinese artifacts, pieces from the steppes, Iranian and Hellenistic Central Asian regions have been found. For example, a Persian silver box found in the tomb is the earliest imported product found to date in China. Foreign articles excavated in the mausoleum indicate that as the starting point ancient Marine Silk Road, Guangzhou attracted visitors worldwide, and embraced cultures from all over the world.