Gansu Provincial Museum

Painted Pottery, Gansu Provincial Museum

Located in Lanzhou City, the Gansu Provincial Museum is the biggest comprehensive museum in the province. It is one of the best sights in the city and a visit is well worthwhile. Built in 1956, the museum covers a total area of 18,000 square meters (about 4 acres). Designed by the soviet experts, this museum will provide visitors with a unique and memorable experience.

Gansu Provincial Museum is divided into two sections-natural resources and historic exhibits.
 It houses collections of various color-painted potteries of Neolithic Age and treasures of ancient grottoes. In addition, the museum is home to precious linen and silk fabrics, books, wooden and bronze vessels, a great many bamboo slips for writing from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), frescos and so many other items.
 A 4-meter-tall Mammoth fossil replica is stored in Gansu Provincial Museum whose remains were excavated from the Yellow River basin in 1973. Aside from the prehistoric presentations, there are also rare animal exhibits, such as pandas, golden monkeys and red -crowned cranes.
 The world-famous bronze Galloping Horse's Hoof Stepped on a Flying Swallow, also named as Galloping Horse, is a treasure of Gansu Provincial Museum. Excavated in 1969 in Wuwei County, Gansu Province, the piece depicts a vigorous horse with long tail waving and head perking. Its three hooves are in the air, galloping like lightening. What makes this sculpture amazing is the right back hoof of this galloping horse lands on the back of a small flying bird. The bird turns in surprise to look at the big creature on its back. At the same moment, the horse's head also turns slightly in attempt to know what has happened. The whole statue is honored as the mysterious and rare treasure in the history of Chinese ancient sculpture art.

Tri-color figure: Ethinic Hu People pull horses

A framework of an elephant

1. Take Jincheng Sightseeing Bus to Shen Bowuguan (Gansu Provincial Museum).
2. Take Bus 1, 18, 31, 32, 50, 53, 58, 77, 106, 129, 136, 137 or 158 to Qilihe Qiao and you will see it.
 

Entrance Fee	Free but visitors need to get the free tickets with their passports; 1,200 tickets are available in the morning and 800 in the afternoon.
Opening Hours	09:00-17:00 (Last entry at 16:00) Closed on Mondays except public holidays.