Xinjiang Regional Museum - Best Place to Learn about Xinjiang & See Urumqi Mummies

1. Memory on the History of the Western Regions 西域历史的记忆 - Historical Exhibition of Cultural Relics of Xinjiang

This permanent exhibition is on the first floor and is starting of the rewarding intellectual journey. In the 1,500 square-meter large exhibition hall, more than 1,000 cultural relics are exhibited to bring visitors back to Xinjiang in different ancient stages, from the Stone Age, Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Collections include old stone implements during the Stone Ages, painted pottery, jade articles, bronze ornaments, seashells, silk, wheat, millet in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, beacon towers of Han Dynasty Great Wall, ancient clothes, sculptures, paintings, rock paintings, golden and silver wares, coins, etc. They not only present obvious regional features, but also show strong cultural elements of the Central Plains.

The Paintings of Fuxi and Nvwa (伏羲女娲图), excavated from Turpan’s Astana-Karakhoja Ancient Tombs, is a treasure you should see. The paintings drew two ancestral figures of Chinese mythology, describing the ancient people’s understanding of human life and the universe.

Wooden Figures with Silk Garments and Polychrome Paintings (绢衣彩绘木俑) from Astana-Karakhoja Ancient Tombs are also most precious treasures of Xinjiang Regional Museum. They are burial objects of the Zhang Xiong couple, a notable family in ancient Gaochang Kingdom. With well-preserved shapes and bright colors, the figures are rare extant examples and helpful relics to study the Tang Dynasty costumes.

Another important treasure is the Brocade with Chinese Characters Wu Xing Chu Dong Fang Li Zhong Guo (“五星出东方利“”中国锦护膊) unearthed in Niya Ruins, Khotan, Southern Xinjiang. It’s an elbow pad embroidered with delicate and complex astronomical patterns. Experts recognize it is a work from Han and Jin Dynasty with a long history of over 2,200 years.

2. The Mortals from Last Millennium 逝者越千年- Exhibition of the Ancient Corpses of Xinjiang

The ancient mummy collections on the second floor are the most famous and interesting exhibition of Xinjiang Regional Museum. Due to the dry weather and special ancient funeral system, Xinjiang has the largest number and most best-preserved mummies in the world. The hall covers about 700 square meters and houses 6 ancient corpses and related relics excavated from Turpan’s Astana Cemetery, ancient tombs in Shanshan, Lop Nor. The most famous and oldest one is the Loulan Beauty, who is said to be an Europeoid buried nearly 4,000 years before. Also, visitors can see the corpse of Zhang Xiong - a Chinese famous general of Gaochang Kingdom, “Qiemo Men, Women, Infant” mummies with Eurasian features, special make up and clothes and a male mummy wearing a golden mask.

A few representative ancient tombs have been restored to help people know more about ancient burial culture together with relevant documents. Some people, especially the children, may be frightened when seeing the mummies while some are quite curious about these mummies which were natural dried and totally different from the Egypt mummies.

Tips: If you’re interested in special ancient mummies, there are different collections you can view in other Xinjiang’s museums, including the Turpan Museum, Hotan Museum, Korla Museum and Tashkurgan Museum.

Xinjiang is a multi-ethnic border region where 47 ethnic groups jointly create a great history and splendid cultures. This folk culture exhibition hall lies on the first floor, covers about 15,000 square meters and displays more 2,000 collections. It mainly introduces the houses, furniture, costumes, daily necessities and folk customs of 12 main ethnic groups, including the Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian, Xibe and other Nationalities. It’s a fantastic folk museum to learn about the ethnic lifestyle, dining, wedding, religious and music and dance cultures. Inside the exhibition hall, many lifelike ethnic wax figures stand in real life scenes. Visitors thus can clearly see their exquisitely-made unique clothes and accessories and picture their daily life.

There are some other exhibitions in the museum which you can drop by to further know Xinjiang’s history and ancient wisdom of China.

Most travelers start a Xinjiang tour from Urumqi and take Urumqi as the transfer center of visiting the Northern Xinjiang. Usually, tourists spend one day exploring Urumqi’s highlights in the down area, including the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, Red Hill Park and Xinjiang Regional Museum. Making a day trip to Tianchi Lake is a popular itinerary if you won’t visit Kanas. Nanshan Pasture is a good summer resort worthy of your visit if you happen to visit Urumqi in summer.

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Xinjiang is vast and beautiful. The Northern Xinjiang is most known for the natural beauty while the Southern Xinjiang is characterized rich cultural and historical treasures. Depending on your time and personal interests, you can extend trip to more destinations, such as the Turpan, fairyland Kanas Lake and Hemu Village in Altay, incredibly beautiful Sayram Lake, Wu’erhe Ghost City in Karamay, Ili (Kalajun Grassland, Narati Grassland, Guozigou...) in Northern Xinjiang, and travel further to the Southern Xinjiang’s Kashgar and vicinal Tashkurgan, Taklamakan Desert, Bosten Lake, Tomor Peak, Kuqa, Khotan, etc. You can pick up some highlighting places for a week's travel or haven an in-depth discovery for up to one month.

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Northwest and Southwest China are two mysterious regions travelers love to visit. Following the ancient Silk Road from Xian to Xinjiang is also a popular travel route. It’s highly suggested that you visit Xinjiang with Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan along the ancient Silk Road, or with the holy land of Tibet (Lhasa, Shigatse, Mount Everest, Mount Kailash, Nyingchi...). The nature scenery and distinctive culture will impress you deeply. China Discovery provides not only all-inclusive Xinjiang tours, Silk Road tours, but also can help you customize a wonderful trip on your own.

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