Sichuan Museum

Sichuan Museum
四川博物馆

Address: 251 South Huanhua Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Website: http://www.scmuseum.cn(Chinese)
Hours: 9:00-20:30,1 May -31 October (entry until 19:30)
9:00-20:00,1 November - 30 April (entry until 19:00)
Closed days: Closed on Mondays (except for national holidays)
Ticket booking: 028-65521888
Admission: Free (passport required for entry, with daily limit of admittance of 4,000)

In 1956,an event involving two great artists was publicized as a meeting between the art worlds of the East and West. Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), a Chinese painter known as the “Oriental Brush”, shared his experience of painting with the famous abstractionist Pablo Picasso when he was invited to exhibit in France. Mr. Zhang’s paintings were highly praised by westerners. Today, most of Zhang Daqian’s paintings are not allowed to be exhibited abroad. Those who want to see the great works must travel to the museum of his hometown, Sichuan.

Sichuan Museum, covering an area of 12,900 square meters with 14 exhibition halls, collects more than 180 of Zhang’s works in a specially designed exhibition hall on the second floor. Zhang was very skilled at landscapes, figures, flowers, feathers, birds, fishes, and quadrupeds. His paintings of lotuses and his portraits of ladies are marvelous in the extreme.

Sichuan Museum also exhibits cultural relics of Sichuan history from more than 5,000 years ago to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Republic of China (1912-1949) on the first floor. The bronze wares of the Ba-Shu era and pictorial bricks and pottery sculptures of the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) are the most distinguished. On the third floor, Buddhist cultural relics such as statutes, Chinese arts and crafts, and artifacts of Sichuan ethnic culture are available.

The holdings of the Sichuan Museum number260,000, the sixth largest collection in China. Exploring the museum to appreciate these treasures left from ancient periods and departed great artists you will not only praise their beauty but also feel the long history and splendid culture of Sichuan.