The Shanxi Museum () is the largest museum and cultural building in the province of
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
, China. The museum, located in Shanxi's provincial capital
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...
, is home to about 400,000 cultural relics and 110,000 old books. Since March 2008, admission is free with a valid ID.
The museum started off as the Education Library and Museum of Shanxi (山西教育图书博物馆, Shanxi jiaoyu tushu bowuguan), which opened on October 9, 1919, as one of the earliest museums in China. Shortly after the
Second Sino-Japanese War the institution's collections were heavily damaged and partially moved to Japan.
Amongst its important artefacts are those related to
Sima Jinlong
Sima Jinlong (; after 420-484), courtesy name Rongze (榮則), was a Han–Xianbei prince and general of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China, whose tomb was discovered in the village of Shijia, Datong, Shanxi.
Sima Jinlong was of mixed ...
(d. CE 484), including a large number of tomb figurines from his tomb including those made of lead-glazed ceramics. The museum also has a tomb plaque from Sima Jinlong's tomb. Other artefacts related to Sima Jinlong are in the Datong Museum.
In September 1953, the museum became the Shanxi Provincial Museum (山西省博物馆, Shānxīshĕng Bowuguan). After the completion of the new building in 2005 it was officially renamed the Shanxi Museum.
Museums in Shanxi
Buildings and structures in Taiyuan
Buildings and structures completed in 2005
Museums established in 1919
1919 establishments in China
2005 establishments in China
National first-grade museums of China
{{China-museum-stub