Guilin Museum 桂林博物馆

About Guilin Museum

A particularly distinctive group is the Ming-period meiping, or plum-shaped vases, excavated around Guilin and associated with the Jingjiang princely tombs. Their painted dragons, phoenixes, birds and flowers reward close comparison. Displays of clothing and other objects from Guangxi’s communities provide a second focus. The museum is in Lingui’s cultural complex, so plan it as a separate outing from central Guilin’s lake-and-hill circuit.

Preparations for the museum began in 1963, and it opened in November 1986, with its name inscribed by Guo Moruo (郭沫若). Construction of a new building in Lingui district started in 2010, was completed in March 2014, opened for trial operation in December 2016, and formally opened on 18 May 2017.

Guilin Museum is a large comprehensive museum housed within a shared complex of one courtyard and two museums. It maintains four permanent exhibitions, including displays on Guilin's historical relics and Guangxi's ethnic-minority folk customs, and is designated a national first-level museum (国家一级博物馆).

What to look for

• The meiping collection shows varied vase shapes, glazes and painted motifs from the Ming period.
• Ethnic clothing and other regional objects add a material view of Guangxi’s communities.

Location & getting there

Getting to Guilin Museum

Use the current museum in the One Theatre and Two Museums complex on Pinggui West Road, Lingui District. This is the newer Lingui site; the old Xishan Road location is not the current museum destination.