Sichuan Museum
四川博物院 Sichuan Museum · Qingyang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
In the large provincial museum by the Huanhua Stream, see Ba-Shu bronzes, Han pictorial bricks and stones, and Zhang Daqian's paintings all in one visit.
Know before you go
- Do not use flash on paintings, calligraphy, thangkas and other paper or textile relics
- do not eat or drink in the galleries
- do not let children run in the galleries or slap the display cases
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
Founded in 1941, the Sichuan Museum is one of the oldest and larger comprehensive museums in southwest China. The current building is on Huanhua South Road in western Chengdu, next to Huanhuaxi Park and Du Fu Thatched Cottage, with more than ten galleries that can display over 3,000 artifacts at a time. Its collection of several hundred thousand objects falls into eight categories: ceramics, brick and stone, metalwork, coins, painting and calligraphy, ethnic and folk objects, rubbings, and modern history, including the Paleolithic "Ziyang Man" skull fossil. Sichuan's Han dynasty pictorial bricks, pictorial stones and pottery figurines show production and daily life in ancient Shu, and works by Zhang Daqian are a highlight of the painting and calligraphy collection. It was rated a National First-Class Museum in 2012 and in 2024 was selected as a national key museum jointly built by central and local governments.
Local customs
The permanent exhibitions are spread over several floors, organized by theme: bronzes, pottery and stone, calligraphy and painting, ceramics, Tibetan Buddhist relics, ethnic cultural relics and more, and temporary exhibitions change fairly often. Local Chengdu parents often bring their children to see pottery figurines such as the Han-dynasty storytelling figurine, and queues are long on holidays. You will get more out of picking two or three themes that interest you and looking at them in depth than rushing through the whole museum.
Religion & beliefs
- The museum holds Tibetan Buddhist statues and thangkas, Han Chinese Buddhist stone carvings and other religious relics
- although they are displayed in museum galleries, please remain respectful: do not make joking gestures with the statues for photos, do not tap the display cases with your fingers, and speak softly during commentary.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Rules that apply here
Chengdu Panda Base: No feeding, no flash, no climbing barriers
Do
- Keep quiet while watching the animals
- Turn off your camera flash
- In walk-through areas, stay at least 3 metres from red pandas and other free-roaming animals
- Check the base's website for that day's opening arrangements before you go
Don’t
- Don't feed the animals, throw things into enclosures or spit
- Don't shout to get the pandas' attention
- Don't sit or stand on railings, and never climb over barriers
- Don't smoke or use open flames anywhere in the park
These are the base's written rules, and staff will stop anyone who breaks them. Some enclosures close temporarily for animal rest rotations, weather or maintenance; check the base's announcements.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Official site: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, visitor notice
China: At Qingming tomb-sweeping, no burning paper or open flames in wooded areas
Do
- Check whether the cemetery requires a reservation before you go
- Stay quiet while laying flowers, bowing and observing silence
- Consider flowers, tree planting or online memorials instead of burning paper
- Dress soberly for tomb-sweeping
- Take offering wrappers and rubbish with you when you leave
Don’t
- Don't burn paper, incense or candles, or set off firecrackers, in woods or grassland
- Don't talk loudly or joke around in the cemetery
- Don't block cemetery paths for long to take photos
During fire-prevention periods, burning paper, incense and candles is strictly banned in forest and grassland fire zones, and anyone who starts a wildfire may be held legally liable. Whether and where a cemetery allows burning is set by its own rules on site.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Xinhua: Two departments deploy safety measures for the Qingming holiday
China: Go through security before the metro, and park shared bikes in marked zones
Do
- Cooperate with the security check at the entrance and put bags through the scanner
- On the platform, wait beside the doors and let passengers off first
- Register with your real name in the app before riding a shared bike
- Park in a marked bay or an app-designated spot, and make sure the lock clicks shut
- If the brakes or lock don't work, switch bikes and report it in the app
Don’t
- Don't linger in the doorway or force your way through closing doors
- Don't leave bikes in traffic lanes, fire lanes or on tactile paving
- Don't let children under 12 ride shared bikes
If you refuse the security check you will not be let into the station. Badly parked bikes are removed, and riders may face action under local rules and the operator's terms.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: People's Daily Online: Beijing issues standards for shared bike technology, services, parking
China: No smoking anywhere on high-speed trains, and no phone calls in quiet carriages
Do
- Sit in the carriage and seat shown on your ticket
- Put large luggage in the racks at the carriage ends or overhead
- Use headphones for videos and music
- In a quiet carriage, step outside to make or take calls
- Before getting off, check around your seat and take your rubbish and belongings
Don’t
- Don't smoke anywhere on the train, including toilets and vestibules
- Don't take someone else's seat
- Don't choose a quiet carriage when travelling with babies or toddlers (12306 advises against it)
Smoking on a bullet train can set off smoke alarms and slow or even stop the train. Smokers are fined by the police and, according to reports, may also be barred from buying bullet-train tickets; official rules prevail. If someone breaks the quiet-carriage rules, tell the train staff.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Travel China Guide: Smoking on Chinese trains
China: Stay on open sections of the Great Wall and never carve the bricks
Do
- Walk only on open sections and marked routes
- On steep stretches, stop and steady yourself before taking photos, and watch your step
- Wear non-slip shoes, carry enough water, and turn back if you are tired
- Carry your rubbish down or put it in a bin
- Check opening arrangements before you go; official announcements prevail
Don’t
- Don't carve, write on or prise loose the bricks
- Don't climb over fences or onto closed, crumbling walls and watchtowers
- Don't run or push on steep sections
Carving the Great Wall counts as damaging a cultural relic: one visitor who carved his name at Badaling was given administrative detention and a fine by the police and was blacklisted by the scenic area. Closed sections are not maintained and can be dangerous.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: China News Service: Man detained for five days and fined 200 yuan for carving on the Badaling Great Wall
China: book popular sights in advance, under your real name, through official channels
Do
- Check the booking rules on the site's official website, mini program or account before you go
- Enter every companion's ID details in advance and pick an entry time slot
- Children, seniors and others with free or reduced tickets also book as required and show ID
- Book early for holidays and summer; popular dates often fill quickly
Don’t
- Don't trust third parties offering to grab tickets or sell 'insider' tickets
- Don't assume a free ticket means no booking is needed
- Don't count on buying tickets at the gate on peak days
Once a popular date is fully booked, you may be turned away. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism requires sites to keep in-person ticket windows and to accommodate seniors and others, but on-site quotas are limited; booking windows, release times and visitor caps are subject to official announcements.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: China Daily: Ministry of Culture and Tourism requires all scenic areas to keep ticket windows
China: set up mobile payment before you go; hotels and tickets are booked under your passport
Do
- Link a foreign bank card to Alipay or WeChat Pay before departure
- Carry some cash in yuan for small stalls, remote areas or payment glitches
- Expect real-name checks at hotels, for train tickets and popular sights; use your passport
- Make sure the name and number on bookings match your passport exactly
- If a station gate cannot read your passport, use the staffed lane
Don’t
- Don't wait until you arrive to set up payment; verification can take time
- Don't assume cash alone or a bank card alone will work everywhere
- Don't book with details that differ from your passport
Without a working payment method, or with mismatched ID details, you may be unable to check in, buy tickets or enter sights. Payment limits, fees and platform rules are subject to official announcements.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Gov.cn: Payment services for foreign visitors to China
China: Queue, don't smoke where banned, and never carve on heritage sites
Do
- Wait your turn in line, and follow staff directions when it's crowded
- On buses and the metro, let passengers off first and offer seats to those in need
- Book popular sights and museums in advance, under your real name, through official channels
- Sort your rubbish into the right bins
- Use serving chopsticks and spoons, and order only what you can eat
Don’t
- Don't cut in line or walk side by side blocking the way
- Don't smoke where it is banned; many cities ban smoking in indoor public places and on public transport
- Don't carve or write on historic buildings or ancient trees, or climb on or touch relics
- Don't use flash or tripods in exhibition halls
- Don't talk loudly or play music out loud in public places
Staff will stop you from queue-jumping, smoking where banned or marking relics, and smoking in no-smoking areas or damaging relics can also lead to fines under the law. Fine amounts, booking methods and opening hours are as officially announced.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Palace Museum official site: Visit
Chengdu teahouses: sip covered-bowl tea slowly, and ask the server to keep your seat if you step out
Do
- The covered bowl has a lid, bowl and saucer; use the lid to push floating leaves aside before sipping
- Stay seated while the server refills from the kettle, and lean back as the spout passes
- If you step out, tell the server to 'keep it'; traditionally people pushed the bowl to the table's centre
- Ask the price first for ear cleaning, massage and similar services
- Ask the staff for a recommendation; jasmine tea is the most common
Don’t
- Don't stand up into the kettle's path during a refill
- Don't bang the table or cups, or clatter the lid against the bowl
Nothing happens if you don't know these customs, but knowing them helps you settle in. Habits differ between teahouses; if unsure, just ask the server.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Chuanguan News (Sichuan Daily): Sichuan has the most teahouses
Don’t DON'T
- Do not use flash on paintings, calligraphy, thangkas and other paper or textile relics
- do not eat or drink in the galleries
- do not let children run in the galleries or slap the display cases
- do not expect to cover every gallery in one visit, or you may rush past the highlights
- do not touch stone carvings displayed for close viewing
Locals appreciate DO
- See the storytelling figurines and pictorial bricks in the Han Pottery and Stone Art Gallery
- see Zhang Daqian's copies of Dunhuang murals and his landscapes in the Zhang Daqian Painting and Calligraphy Gallery
- pick one or two themes to see slowly
- afterwards combine with Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Huanhuaxi Park for a half-day western Chengdu route
- check the current temporary exhibitions
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- Allow 2–3 hours, or half a day if you like calligraphy and painting or Han-dynasty artifacts. The Sichuan Museum is on Huanhua South Road in Qingyang District in western Chengdu
- take the metro to a nearby station and walk, or take a bus or taxi to the Huanhuaxi Park area. Tickets, booking methods, opening hours and closing days are as announced on the Sichuan Museum's official website and official WeChat account
- book as early as possible for holidays. The museum is within walking distance of Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Huanhuaxi Park, and can also be combined with the Jinsha Site Museum and Kuanzhai Alley for a day in the west of the city. There are many galleries, so first confirm which are open that day at the service desk or in the official guide, then plan your route by floor
- check closing days such as Mondays in advance to avoid a wasted trip.
Sources & verification notes
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