With Qingming fast approaching, how are you planning to spend your time off? With various museums showcasing Hainan's unique marine culture recently becoming popular educational destinations have you considered a museum tour?

Hainan Provincial Museum: Explore Hainan's History and Culture

Hainan Provincial Museum.

Fitting for China's youngest province, the Hainan Provincial Museum is most recently built of the country's provincial-level museums. Visitors to the permanent exhibitions can gain a panoramic understanding of Hainan's history, ethnic minorities, and intangible cultural heritages.

The three story museum includes hundreds of bronze artifacts, ceramics, calligraphy scrolls, and paintings. The three most treasured items on permanent display and a must for any visitor are the King of Yue's Bronze Sword, a Tang Sancai Standing Horse Figurine, and a Song Dynasty blue-and-white-glazed pot with a phoenix-headed spout.

China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum: Unveiling the Secrets of the South China Sea

China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum.

Located in Tanmen near the fishing port, the South China Sea Museum is only nine kilometers away from the Permanent Venue of the Boao Forum for Asia. Showcasing "marine culture and marine elements" related to the history of the South China Sea and the ancient Maritime Silk Road, it includes a full sized replica of the "Huaguang Reef No. 1" shipwreck along with a number of artifacts recovered from beneath the waves, and specimens of marine organisms.

The museum houses over 70,000 items its collection. Including foreign trade artifacts from various dynasties, South China Sea biological specimens, historical Hainanese artifacts, and ship models from different eras, curators regularly rotate items for conservation reasons and to keep the public coming back.

Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum: Discover the Treasures of Qiongzhou

Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum.

Located on the north side of downtown Wuzhishan, the Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum features a permanent exhibition on local folk customs and ceramics, and two constantly changing special exhibitions on calligraphy and painting. The three parts of the permanent exhibition area showcase the social life, cultural customs, and traditions of Hainan's various ethnic groups (including the Li, Miao, Hui, and Tanka).

Many of the over 32,000 items in the museum's permanent collection are held in storage. However, there are more than 700 precious artifacts (covering various aspects of the daily life, cultural heritage sites, and historical figures of the three major ethnic minorities) that are usually on display.

Notably, the interactive exhibition area incorporates modern technology, including a Li-Han language translation system, a virtual bamboo and wood musical instrument experience system, and a virtual costume production system.

Museum-themed Itineraries: Start a Marvelous Treasure Hunt

Recommended Itinerary 1: Qiongzhou Origins Exploration

Hainan Provincial Museum → Haikou Museum → China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum → Lingshui Li Autonomous County Museum → Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum → Danzhou Museum

Recommended Itinerary 2: Island Folklore Tour

Hainan Provincial Museum → Ding'an County Ya Museum → Hainan Provincial Ethnic Museum → Hainan Danyan Museum → Baoting County Nationality Museum → Sanya Nanshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum

Recommended Itinerary 3: Natural Wonders Journey

Hainan Provincial Museum → China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum →Hainan Danyan Museum → Sanya Natural History Museum → Ledong Li Autonomous County Museum

Recommended Itinerary 4: Hainan's Precious Gems Tour

Sanya Shanhai Tridacninae Museum → China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum → Hainan Provincial Museum → Danzhou Museum

Photos provided by Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism and Culture