[Photo from www.lyta.com.cn]

The Luoyang Museum is the only comprehensive historical museum in Luoyang. For many years, it has been making efforts to make full use of its collection to offer comprehensive or themed exhibitions in a variety of forms. It adheres to the principle of integrating collection, safekeeping, publicity, education and scientific research.

The exhibition of cultural relics in the Luoyang Museum presents the splendid culture of the ancient capital city of Luoyang. The new Eternal Civilization: An Exhibition of Selected Cultural Relics of Luoyang includes almost 1,000 valuable cultural relics from the Pre-Historical Period, the Xia-Shang Period, the Eastern Zhou-Western Zhou Period, the Han-Wei Period, and the Sui-Tang Period.

Among the highlighted exhibition items are the fossils of an elephant that lived 50,000 years ago; painted potteries in the Neolithic Age; bronze sacrificial vessels from the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods; painted potteries and tomb figures doing various kinds of acrobatics from the Han-Wei Period; painted tomb figures of dancers in the Sui-Tang Period; and tri-colored glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The bronze jue cup from the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century – 16th century BC), the bronze ding vessel with gold and silver inlay from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), pottery figures from the Northern Wei Period (AD 386-534), and a tri-colored glazed pottery of a lamp and tri-colored glazed pottery of a horse in the Tang Dynasty can be said to be extraordinarily rare national treasures.

At the same time, a variety of modern techniques are used to enliven the exhibition items, imbuing the exhibition with grandeur and good taste and highlighting the excellent craftsmanship and elegance. The exhibition highlights the special historical statues of Luoyang as the ancient capital city. The exhibition was awarded the “High-Quality Prize of the National Top 10 Exhibitions in 1999” by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The Luoyang Museum has been working to expand and bring into full play the function of publicity and education. All kinds of temporary exhibitions are staged on a regular basis. Moreover, it has staged overseas exhibitions in such countries as Japan, South Korea, the United States and Belgium, spreading the splendid culture of the ancient capital city of Luoyang all over the world. In past years, the following picture albums and books have been published: Tri-Colored Glazed Pottery of the Tang Dynasty in Luoyang, Selected Cultural Relics in Luoyang and Collected Essays for Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Luoyang Museum.

As a window of publicity for the ancient capital city, the Luoyang Museum has attracted numerous visitors from home and abroad because of its extensive exhibition items, collection of exquisite cultural relics, innovative design of exhibitions and high-quality services. National leaders such as Li Peng, Hu Jintao, Yang Shangkun, Song Jian and Li Tieying and some heads of government from other countries visited the museum. Today, the Luoyang Museum projects a totally new image and welcomes visitors from all over the world.