Hubei Provincial Museum

The tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, sealed in 433 BC and excavated in 1978, produced one of the most extraordinary finds in Chinese archaeology: a set of sixty-five bronze bells hung on a three-tier wooden frame, weighing around five tonnes in total, each bell producing two distinct pitches depending on where it is struck, together covering five octaves and playable in a twelve-semitone scale, which rewrote understanding of ancient Chinese music theory. The museum holds them along with the tomb's lacquerware, the Sword of Goujian, a bronze blade from around 500 BC still sharp and untarnished, and the Yue Wang spear. Replica bells are performed several times daily.

What you actually see

• The chime bells - sixty-five bronze bells from 433 BC, each with two pitches.
• The Sword of Goujian - a 2,500-year-old bronze blade still bright and sharp.
• The tomb lacquerware - painted coffins and objects from the Zeng burial.
• The bell performances - replicas played on a daily schedule.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes on Mondays. Free entry requires advance online booking, which fills quickly at weekends. Bell performances run several times daily and are worth timing for.

Honest expectations

Booking is compulsory and difficult without a Chinese app. The originals are displayed but not played; performances use replicas. English labelling is partial. Weekend crowds around the bells are heavy.

Nearby

East Lake surrounds the museum; Yellow Crane Tower lies west.