Handan Museum

Handan Museum
邯郸市博物馆

Address: 45 North Zhonghua Avenue, Handan, Hebei province
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (last ticket: 16:30 pm)
Closed Mondays
Tel: (+86-310)3012739
General admission: Free (passport required for entry)

Handan Museum was founded in 1984 and installed in the former municipal exhibition hall which was constructed in 1968. The architecture of the museum is a most protected historical and cultural site in Hebei province. The museum covers a construction area of 11,000 square meters, with 20 exhibition halls covering 5,500 sq m.

Handan sits in a historically important geographic position with the distinguished culture and civilization of northern China, which can be traced through the permanent exhibitions at the museum: the Cishan culture of the early Neolithic era, the history and culture of the State of Zhao dated to over 2,000 years ago, the ceramic art of the Cizhou kilns, coins from different historical periods, and the ancient stone carvings from Handan.

You will see specimens and artifacts unearthed from the Cishan culture datable to 8,000 years ago. The most notable finds may be the carbonized millet, walnut, and bones of domesticated chickens, which are regarded as the earliest evidence of such behavior known to the world. Others include the 5th-to-6th century Buddhist statues made of white marble and red sandstone excavated from the Temple of Eternal Joy (Changle Si), black and white glazed earthenware from one of China's most prominent private kiln complexes – the Cizhou kilns – and bronze ware, pottery and stone items bearing political, cultural and military meanings from the ancient State of Zhao (403-222 BC).