Jin State Museum will open on Oct 1 after four years of construction, according to the cultural relic tourist center in Quwo county in the city of Linfen, Shanxi province. It covers an area of 14.7 hectares and involves an investment of 198 million yuan ($32.26 million).
The museum is built on the Tianma-Qucun relics and is China's only platform that displays intact Jin culture. The Tianma-Qucun relics are the location of the early capital of the Jin State – a major state during the middle part of the Zhou Dynasty. They were named one of the 100 relics in China under State protection by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
In addition to relics from the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties, abundant Jin cultural relics were discovered at the Tianma-Qucun relic site, especially the 19 tombs of nine generations of marquises and their wives. They were important to China's study of Jin culture. More than 12,000 relic pieces have been unearthed at the tomb area after decades of archaeological excavation. Ten pits of chariots and horses, as well as houses, potteries and sacrificial pits in various periods, were also found. In particular, a total of 48 chariots and hundreds of horses were unearthed at pit No 1, which is the biggest of its kind in the Western Zhou Dynasty (c 11th century-771BC).
The museum was approved for establishment in September 2008 by the Shanxi Development and Reform Commission, and construction began on August 31, 2009. The museum features Jin State history, relic discovery and protection, as well as a multi-functional room. It showcases the Jin State's development over more than 600 years, China's archaeology discoveries over the past 50 years, as well as nine tombs of marquises in the Jin State and three pits of chariots and horses that reflect ancient funeral rituals.
The museum ticket is priced at 70 yuan ($11.41) per visitor.
Edited by Michael Thai
