Jinsha Site Museum

Construction work in western Chengdu in 2001 cut into a site of the ancient Shu state, occupied around three thousand years ago and clearly connected to Sanxingdui to the north: ivory in quantity, jade, bronze and gold, apparently deposited as offerings. The best-known object is a disc of gold foil less than a millimetre thick, cut with four birds circling a rayed sun, which was adopted as the national emblem of Chinese cultural heritage. The museum is built over the excavation itself, so the sacrificial pit is walked around under a roof with the deposits in place, alongside galleries of the recovered objects.

What you actually see

• The gold sun bird - the foil disc of four birds around a rayed sun.
• The excavation hall - the sacrificial area preserved in place under cover.
• The ivory deposits - elephant tusks laid in quantity in the pits.
• The jade and bronze - ancient Shu objects with Sanxingdui parallels.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes on Mondays. Chengdu is mild but wet, and the site is largely indoors. Weekends and school holidays are busiest.

Honest expectations

The excavation hall is a dim earth surface that needs the interpretation to make sense. The famous gold disc is small, a few centimetres across. English labelling is partial.

Nearby

Chengdu's centre lies east; Sanxingdui is north near Guanghan.