The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM, the world's premier infrastructure firm, recently released the 2023 Theme Index and Museum Index: Global Attractions Attendance Report.

Seven Chinese museums made the top 20 list, namely, National Museum of China, China Science and Technology Museum, Nanjing Museum, Suzhou Museum, Hunan Museum, Hubei Provincial Museum, and Guangdong Museum. Hunan Museum was ranked 13th.

Hunan Museum. (Photo/Official website of Hunan Museum)

As the largest history and art museum in Hunan Province, the Hunan Museum covers a total area of 110,556.3 square meters, including 91,252 square meters for the main exhibition building, 10,408 square meters of the southern building, and 8,896.3 square meters of the Miluo Base, which is currently under construction. It is one of the first batch of national first-level museums and one of the first eight national museums co-funded by central and local governments.

The museum houses over 570,000 artifacts. Among these, the most representative collections include the cultural relics excavated from the world-famous Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs; bronze wares of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties; cultural relics of Chu State; pottery and porcelain, calligraphy and painting works of various dynasties; and, cultural relics in modern times.  

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the archaeological excavation of the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs. Between 1972 and 1974, more than 700 gorgeous lacquerwares, over 20,000 exquisite textiles, and bamboo and silk scripts with over 130,000 characters were unearthed, including the world's oldest astronomy text and earliest and thinnest dress Plain Unlined Gauze Gown. At present, there are more than 4,000 experts and scholars engaged in research on the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs. The museum has received over 100 million visits in total to its cultural relics from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs, averaging about 4 million visits annually in recent years.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan