Zhejiang Provincial Museum (浙江省博物馆, Zhèjiāng Shěng Bówùguǎn)

Liangzhu (良渚, 3,300-2,300 BC) was a highly advanced Neolithic jade-working culture centered on the lower Yangtze River near modern Hangzhou. The Liangzhu people built a walled city with an elaborate water management system (dams, canals, reservoirs), produced the finest jade objects in Neolithic China, and developed a hierarchical society with distinct social classes. Their jade cong tubes and bi discs with the human-animal face motif are their most famous artifacts. In 2019, the Liangzhu Archaeological Site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, confirming it as one of the world's earliest urban civilizations. The Zhejiang Provincial Museum holds the definitive Liangzhu collection.

Celadon (青瓷, qīngcí) is a type of stoneware or porcelain with a translucent green glaze produced by firing iron oxide in a reducing (oxygen-deprived) kiln atmosphere. The green color ranges from olive to blue-grey to pale jade-green depending on the iron content, kiln temperature, and reduction conditions. Celadon was invented in Zhejiang during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and reached its artistic peak during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) at the Longquan kilns. It was widely exported across Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa — celadon shards have been found at medieval ports from Zanzibar to Kyoto. Zhejiang is the birthplace and historical center of celadon production.

If you can only visit one: the Zhijiang Campus (之江馆区, opened 2023). It has the main collection — Liangzhu jade, celadon, Southern Song artifacts, and comprehensive Zhejiang history galleries. The Gushan Campus (孤山馆区) is smaller, older, and worth visiting for its location on a West Lake island (beautiful setting) and its focus on West Lake cultural history. The two campuses are about 12 km apart (35 minutes by Metro or DiDi).

The "King of Cong" (玉琮王, Yù Cóng Wáng) is the largest and most elaborate Liangzhu jade cong tube ever discovered, found in 1986 at the Fanshan cemetery near Hangzhou. It measures 8.9 cm tall, weighs 6.6 kg, and is carved from a single piece of dark green nephrite jade. Each of its four corners bears the complete Liangzhu human-animal mask motif (神人兽面纹) — a figure with a feathered headdress, round eyes, and a wide nose, riding or merging with a beast with large round eyes and bared fangs. The motif is incised in lines as fine as 0.1 mm, an almost unbelievable precision for a Neolithic culture working without metal tools. It is the defining artifact of Liangzhu civilization and a Chinese national treasure.

Yes, both campuses are free. Reserve via the museum WeChat mini-program. Passport is required. The Gushan Campus (on West Lake) can be busy on weekends — book 3 days ahead.

Yes, but it is a full day. The Liangzhu Archaeological Site (良渚古城遗址, a UNESCO World Heritage site) is about 25 km northwest of Hangzhou, while the Zhijiang Campus museum is 12 km southwest. Rent a car with driver or use DiDi (site to museum is about 45 minutes, ¥80-100). Start at the archaeological site in the morning (8:30-12:00), then the museum in the afternoon (13:00-16:30). The combination is ideal — the site shows you the scale and engineering, the museum shows you the artifacts.