Hunan Museum
National First Grade Museum; Holds The Mawangdui Han Tombs Collection · Changsha, Hunan
The museum built around the Mawangdui tombs, and one of the most extraordinary archaeological collections anywhere. In 1972, workers digging an air-raid shelter on a hill outside Changsha broke into the tomb of Xin Zhui, wife of the Marquis of Dai, sealed in 163 BC. Inside nested coffins packed in charcoal and white clay, her body had not decayed: the skin was still soft, the joints still moved, and blood remained liquid in her veins - the best-preserved ancient human body ever recovered, and she is on display here. With her came a wardrobe of silk, including a gauze robe weighing forty-nine grams that folds into a matchbox; lacquerware so fresh it looks modern; medical and astronomical texts on silk that rewrote what was known of early Chinese science; and a painted funeral banner mapping heaven, earth and the underworld. The museum was rebuilt and reopened in 2017 as a vast concrete and glass building, and entry is free but strictly by advance booking, which is the single thing most visitors get wrong.
50 Dongfeng Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, China
Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-17:00 with last entry 16:00, closed Mondays; extended daily to 20:30 with last entry 19:30 from 1 July to 31 August 2026. Free entry by advance real-name booking only.