Two Xi'an Museum exhibition halls open after upgrades

After five-months of upgrades and renovation, the No 2 and 3 exhibition halls of Xi'an Museum – located in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province – opened to the public on April 11.

This is the first large-scale upgrading of the museum's basic displays since it opened in 2007.

A tricolor pottery figure of a Central Asian Man riding a galloping horse is on display at the Xi'an Museum. [Photo/Xi'an news network]

More than 1,100 groups of cultural relics in the museum's collection have been exhibited in the 1,300-square-meter new exhibition halls, including more than 100 available for viewing by the public for the first time.

A Xi'an museum guide introduces a jar from the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC). [Photo/Xi'an news network]

The museum explores new ways of presenting cultural relic exhibits and brings visitors closer to the artifacts.

For example, in the display area for chariots, horses and weapons from the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC), the relics are set up as part of a scene, giving visitors insights into how they were used.

In addition, many new interactive installations have been added to the exhibition site, as has a supplementary display of local cultural relics from the Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, allowing visitors to learn about the preservation and continuous development of Xi'an culture during those periods.

A visitor admires a painting on display at the Xi'an Museum. [Photo/Xi'an news network]