La Jornada: The Sanxingdui Museum houses jewels from the mysterious ancient Chinese civilization

Sichuan. Public attendance at China’s museums is massive, joyful and constant. The museum spaces are gigantic and the crowds spread throughout the rooms with enthusiasm and discipline. The case of the Sanxingdui Museum is no exception, despite being located 38 kilometers from the Chinese city of Chengdu.

It houses the extraordinary treasures of the mysterious ancient civilization of Shu, with its imposing bronze masks, gold pieces and many archaeological objects of great value, such as the sacred bronze tree, four meters high, jade objects and valuable ritual artifacts more than 3 thousand years old.

The Sanxingdui Museum was opened in 1997, and only in 2023 were new gigantic pavilions added. It is an architectural jewel and is located on an archaeological site that still has everything to discover.

The excavations in progress can be visited with great care and precautions and have information sheets, photographs of the raid work and plans for the immediate future.

The Sanxingdui culture was a mysterious civilization in southern China, in the Shu kingdom, coinciding with the Shang dynasty. It is a culture little documented until now. Excavations began in 1920 and intensified in 1980, when, in 1986, the bronze statue of a man from the Shang dynasty was found and unearthed. Sanxingdui was one of the largest cities of the Bronze Age.

Throughout many rooms we witness amazement, surprise and enchantment in front of the many masks of enigmatic expressions.

Many archaeological surprises are yet to be discovered.