Yangzhou Double Museum

The Yangzhou Double Museum encompasses the Yangzhou Museum and the Chinese Woodblock Printing Museum[...]

The Yangzhou Double Museum encompasses the Yangzhou Museum and the Chinese Woodblock Printing Museum. Here, you can view precious cultural relics dating back to the Neolithic Age, authentic calligraphy and paintings of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics, and woodblock printing plates. You can even try your hand at the woodblock printing process. Located on the west bank of Mingyue Lake and only 2 kilometers away from Yangzhou Railway Station, it serves as an ideal starting or ending point for your Yangzhou journey. In fact, it is an excellent entry point to learn about Yangzhou or to gain a deeper understanding of the city. The museum’s shape resembles two lotus leaves, with statues of ancient celebrities related to Yangzhou, such as Yang Guang, Jian Zhen, and Shi Kefa, standing at the entrance. The lotus-shaped building to the west is the Yangzhou Museum, while the one to the east is the Chinese Woodblock Printing Museum. The museum has three floors, with each floor connected by a central hall between the two museums. The first floor of the Yangzhou Museum is a temporary exhibition hall. The second floor houses the National Treasure Hall, Sculpture Art Hall, and Calligraphy and Painting Hall. The National Treasure Hall displays only one cultural relic – the ‘Treasure of the Museum’ Yuan Dynasty Ji Lan You Bai Long Wen Mei Bottle. The deep blue color serves as the base of the bottle, with a lifelike white dragon pattern encircling the bottle. Currently, only three such Mei bottles exist worldwide, with the other two having flaws. Only the one in Yangzhou is intact and large, valued at 360 million yuan. In the Sculpture Art Hall, you can appreciate fine carvings on various materials such as wood, walnut, and ivory. The Calligraphy and Painting Hall features the ‘Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition’ and the ‘Ming and Qing Dynasties Collection Exhibition’, where you can see the authentic calligraphy and paintings of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics, such as the bamboo paintings by Zheng Banqiao. The third floor is the Yangzhou History Hall, where the basic exhibition ‘Guangling Tide – Yangzhou City Story’ is located, showcasing cultural relics arranged chronologically from the Neolithic Age to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The first floor of the Chinese Woodblock Printing Museum is the cultural experience center and shop, where you can participate in various activities, such as playing with traditional Chinese toys and simulating archaeological excavations in sand. The second floor is the Chinese Woodblock Printing Hall, which displays the history and process of Chinese woodblock printing, with woodblock printing tools and printed products on display. In the interactive area, staff demonstrate the process of carving and plate-making, and you can also participate and print a page to keep as a memento. The third floor is the Yangzhou Woodblock Printing Hall, including a special exhibition on the history of Yangzhou woodblock printing and a plate library. The plate library has a unique layout, resembling the interior of a library, with rows of shelves densely packed with approximately 200,000 woodblock printing plates. Opening hours are all year round from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00-17:00; all year round on Mondays, closed all day; and on New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, 09:00-17:00. Service facilities include luggage storage: reference price: free; large items can be stored; please carry valuables with you. Site interpretation: interpretation duration: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes per session.
Admission Fee: Chinese language tour – 100 yuan per batch (including special exhibitions, for less than 30 people). English language tour – 200 yuan per batch (including special exhibitions, for less than 30 people). Yangzhou Museum provides free volunteer-guided tours to visitors from time to time. Specific sessions are announced by the museum’s broadcasting system 15 minutes in advance.
Must-see tips:
1. Tour guides can be hired at Yangzhou Double Museums. The fee is 50 yuan for one tour. For details on hiring a tour guide, please consult the front desk in the lobby on the first floor of the Double Museums.
2. After entering the lobby on the first floor of the Double Museums, turn right. There is a free storage area.