Shanxingdui Museum Travel Guide

Placed on the bank of the Yazi River, west of the famed cultural city of Guanghan and 40kms north of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Shanxingdui (Three-star Piles) Museum was opened in October 1997.

The cultural relics in the archaeological museum were mainly unearthed from the Shanxingdui site and are exhibited in an area of around 4,000 square meters boasting superb modern facilities. Shanxingdui Relic is the religious homeland of the ancient Shu (Sichuan) and was a significant archaeological discovery that changed people’s comprehension of ancient culture.

The Shanxingdui Relic area extends over about 12 square kilometers and is the largest and oldest Shu cultural relic in the province. Legend says that the Heavenly Emperor threw down three handfuls of earth that became three earth mounds, while the tree earth piles were described as three golden stars and hence were recognized as Shanxingdui (Three-star Piles).

Affirmed by modern archaeology, these earth mounds actually emerged from breaches in the wall of an enigmatic ancient city built of earth, which lead to phenomenal archaeological excavations. Divided into four distinct sections, Shanxingdui Museum showcases over 1,000 wonderful artifacts of cultural relics from the site as well as the two sacrificial pits dating from the Shang period, including jade articles, gold plate, bronze ware, pottery and ivory.

Getting There & Away

Chengdu International Airport is situated 60kms southwest of Shanxingdui and handles flights from over 90 cities; the airport is a 2-hour flight away from Beijing. From Chengdu’s New South Gate Bus Station, buses run to Chengdu on a regular basis, while buses to Guanghan depart from nearly every big bus station in the city. In Guanghan, you can take bus numbers 1 or 6 to Shanxingdui.