Hubei Provincial Museum

Located on the East Lake, Hubei Museum is one of the best-known museums in China, showcasing numerous State-level historic and cultural relics. Since the establishment of the museum, many exhibitions have been held here. The collections currently hold some 200, 000 objects among which the most astonishing are the objects excavated from the Zenghouyi Tomb. The Zenghouyi Tomb was built about 2400 years ago. The richness of the objects excavated from this tomb and their exquisite beauty has made them one of the rare sights of the world. The musical instruments alone have been called an underground musical palace. Among these instruments, the bianzhong or Chime bells are most famous. In 1978, 15,000 articles were excavated from the Zenghouyi Tomb in Suizhou, including bronze ritual vessels and weapons, horses and carts, articles made of bamboo, lacquer, gold, jade, bamboo tubes, coffins, and musical instruments. Exhibited in this hall are very rare items such as the chime bells, gold cups and jade plates. The Zenghouyi Chime Bells are the most historically important relics. The complete set includes 65 bells hanging on a three-tiered rack weighing over 2,000 kilograms. On the bells are gold-plated inscriptions about music. Each bell can emit two tones. After over 1,000 years, the bells still sound perfectly, ready to play melodies. The Hubei Provincial Museum made a special exhibition room for this set of Bell, and specialists at certain times give performances of ancient music for visitors. The Sword of Gou Jian, a king of Yue Kingdom, and the spear of Fu Chai, a king of Wu Kingdom, are both over 2,000 years old but still shiny and sharp. The lacquer wares used by ancient Chu people have exotic shapes and are truly marvelous.