Gansu Provincial Museum

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.

Painting Bricks

Pottery Buddha Statues

 

Silver Plate

Bronze Beast

 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 Bronze Galloping Horse is the most prized possession of the Gansu Provincial Museum and is regarded as the pinnacle of ancient Chinese bronze art. Unearthed in 1969 in Wuwei County, Gansu Province, the sculpture captures a steed in a full, exhilarating gallop: its mane and tail stream in the wind, its head is held high in a proud arc, and three hooves are suspended mid-air as if racing across the earth at lightning speed. What sets this piece apart from conventional static horse sculptures is its vivid portrayal of dynamic motion - its half-lidded eyes and wide-open mouth vividly conveying the thrill of breakneck speed. Most remarkably, the horse’s right hind hoof rests on the back of a flying swallow, freezing a split second of breathtaking dynamism in bronze. This iconic detail has earned the artwork its more famous moniker: “Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow”. Further, the horse is pacing instead of trotting normally. This specialized gait would have ensured a stable, smooth ride for its rider, minimizing jolts even at top speed. In essence, this bronze marvel stood as the “supercar” over 1,800 years ago.

Galloping Horse's Hoof Stepped on a Flying Swallow, Gansu Provincial Museum

 Take Bus 31, 32, 53, 58 or K102 to Sheng Bowuguan and you will see it. Or take 1, 18, 129, 136, 137 or 606 to Xizhan Shizi.
 

Entrance Fee	Free but online reservation is needed.
Opening Hours	08:30 - 18:30, last entry at 18:00; Closed on Mondays except public holidays.