National Treasures

From pottery to ritual bronzes, jade burial suit, porcelain, embroidery and ornaments, every cultural relic witnesses the history of China and has an interesting story to tell. This series explores some of the greatest national treasures collected in the major museums of China.

Art & Culture

Lay me down in a suit of jade

Made of 4,248 pieces of jade, a 1.74-meter-long suit is one of the national treasures exhibited at the Xuzhou Museum in Jiangsu Province.

21h 0

Art & Culture

The mystery of the bronze man

Among China's ancient bronze figure statues, one unearthed in the archeological site of Sanxingdui is the largest and the earliest of its kind that has been found so far.

2019-01-06 08:00 0

Art & Culture

Only kill with a borrowed knife

For modern people, life without electric lights is hard to imagine. Before the artificial lights, intelligent ancient Chinese used oil lamps to produce light.

2018-12-24 18:26 0

Art & Culture

The wine vessel that saved a life

More than 2,000 years ago, China already had a primitive fridge. In the Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BC), the double-layered "refrigerator" existed.

2018-12-09 00:00 0

Art & Culture

The marquis and his bianzhong

Bianzhong and pan-and-zun are two important findings unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zen, a significant archaeological site in Hubei province.

2018-11-26 18:03 0

Art & Culture

A great sword with a great story

Even after more than 2,000 years, the Sword of Goujian, a bronze double-edged sword, can still easily cut through 20 layers of paper at once.

2018-11-11 08:00 0

Art & Culture

A tale of treachery and rescue

Ox-shaped Zun is a significant object for the study of China's history of domesticating animals.

2018-10-15 19:31 0

Art & Culture

Ancient zun's turbulent history

The zun is a vase-like vessel used as a ritual container to hold wine in ancient China. One of the most notable zun is the Four-goat Square Zun.

2018-09-30 00:01 0

Art & Culture

Drink and be merry: 2 ancient wine urns part after 2,500 years

Although separated now, a pair of bronze vessels once accompanied each other over 2,500 years. The wine vessels are decorated with lotus petals and a crane.

2018-09-16 00:01 0

Art & Culture

Fascinating tale of a bronze pan

The Guojizibai pan, a large bronze water vessel from the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and the Zhou (1046-256 BC) dynasties is the largest of its kind found in the world.

2018-09-05 15:16 0