Yunnan Provincial Museum - large, comprehensive museum in Kunming
Last Update: 18th October 2020
With an area of 1 hectare, Yunnan Provincial Museum is the largest museum with the most pieces of collections, offering more than 200,000 pieces of collection, including bronze ware, ancient coins, ceramics, ancient paintings, stone steles, stamps and various handicrafts. Yunnan Provincial Museum always holds a variety of temporary exhibitions irregularly plus the permanent exhibitions to show the social history and culture of Yunnan in a comprehensive and systematic way.
Interested in visiting the Yunnan Provincial Museum on a Yunnan Tour?
Wendy Wei Tours offers a variety of different packaged tours as well as custom tours including the Yunnan Provincial Museum, among other attractions and destinations. To find out more, please visit our Tours page or Contact Us directly to find out more.
What to expect at the Yunnan Provincial Museum
Yunnan Provincial Museum offers an exhibition area of 2,400 square meters. The collections at the museum include paintings, calligraphy, bronze ware, religious relics, stamps, coins, gold and silverware, jade articles, lacquerware, texture, embroidered articles, contracts, official documents, Jingdezhen blue-and-white porcelain in the Yuan (1271 - 1368) and Ming (1368 - 1644) Dynasties, old pottery and stoneware, bamboo and wood hornworks, seals, and stone inscriptions, modern and contemporary handicrafts, natural specimens, Jianshui purple pottery, gifts from the friendly countries to the provincial government leaders, etc. Among them, the ancient bronze sacrificial utensil for containing the bull meat in the Warring States Period (475 BC – 221 BC), bronze shell-storage containers in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC – 8 AD), the silver Guanyin statue in the Dali Kingdom (937 – 1094 and 1096 - 1253), the golden crown inlaid with other types of gem in the Ming Dynasty are the highlights of the collections.
There are several permanent exhibitions at the museum – Bronze Wares in the Dian Kingdom (278 BC – 109 BC), the Light of Civilization, the Kingdom in the Buddhist Light and Yunnan in the Ancient Ages. These exhibitions tell the development of the social life and the history from the Primitive Period through the feudal age to the modern times in Yunnan. Through the collections, you could also get acquainted with the development of the Buddhism and the ethnic minorities who have settled in Yunnan for ages.
Temporary exhibitions are held at the museum from time to time. In 2019, the Special Exhibition for Napoleon’s Cultural Relics will be on display there. At the scheduled time, you will explore more than 130 pieces of exhibits from the French Napoleon Foundation, covering seven categories including sculptures, paintings, instruments, costumes, commemorative coins and furniture. The exhibition is focused on the time of from 1802 to 1814, the most brilliant years in Napoleon’s life when Napoleon made great impacts on France and even Europe.
There are several permanent exhibitions at the museum – Bronze Wares in the Dian Kingdom (278 BC – 109 BC), the Light of Civilization, the Kingdom in the Buddhist Light and Yunnan in the Ancient Ages. These exhibitions tell the development of the social life and the history from the Primitive Period through the feudal age to the modern times in Yunnan. Through the collections, you could also get acquainted with the development of the Buddhism and the ethnic minorities who have settled in Yunnan for ages.
Temporary exhibitions are held at the museum from time to time. In 2019, the Special Exhibition for Napoleon’s Cultural Relics will be on display there. At the scheduled time, you will explore more than 130 pieces of exhibits from the French Napoleon Foundation, covering seven categories including sculptures, paintings, instruments, costumes, commemorative coins and furniture. The exhibition is focused on the time of from 1802 to 1814, the most brilliant years in Napoleon’s life when Napoleon made great impacts on France and even Europe.
Best time to visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum
As it always takes 3 hours at least to visit Yunnan Provincial Museum, the best time to visit the museum is in the morning.
The best months to visit are from March to November.
The best months to visit are from March to November.
How to get to the Yunnan Provincial Museum
A few buses pass by Yunnan Provincial Museum. Therefore, there are only a few options.
- Rent a vehicle to the museum. This is the quickest and most direct option.
- Take Bus 5 and Bus 26 to the Stop of Yunnan Art Theater (艺术剧院站).
Additional Yunnan Provincial Museum Travel Advice
- Opening hours: 09:00 – 17:00 (It is not allowed to enter the museum from 16:30 on). It is closed on Monday.
- As at 18th October 2020, the entrance pricing is free of charge.
- Please take your passport with you when visiting the museum.
- Self sticks, video cassette recorders, or tripods are not allowed to be taken into the museum.
- Please keep quiet at the museum.
- Flashlight is not allowed to be applied at the museum.
- The museum offers English speaking interpretation service for an additional fee of 100 CNY for a group of up to 5 persons, 200 CNY for a group of between 6 and 10 persons, 300 CNY for a group of between 11 and 20 persons and 400 CNY for a group of between 21 and 30 persons. The time for interpretation service is 90 minutes.
- The museum offers strollers and chair wheels rental service as well.
Interested in visiting the Yunnan Provincial Museum on a Tour?
Wendy Wei Tours offers a variety of different packaged tours as well as custom tours including the Yunnan Provincial Museum, among other attractions and destinations. To find out more, please visit our Tours page or Contact Us directly to find out more.