Bronze chariots take visitors on epic historical ride

Other precious items include an Eastern Han Dynasty celadon jar, as well as batik clothes and skirts with egret patterns and a gold crown inlaid with gemstones and featuring five phoenix panels from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The fully glazed celadon jar has a small rim and bears an inscription indicating that it was made in AD 104. The jar, with its value inscribed on its surface, was used to hold sacrificial wine and is the first of its kind found in Guizhou that has an inscription.

"In addition to the introductory and concluding halls, the exhibition is divided into six parts according to the chronological order," Li says.

It presents Guizhou from the prehistoric through to the pre-Qin period (pre-221 BC), the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han eras, and then in stages all the way to the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Visitors can walk down through history and experience the way Guizhou gradually integrated itself into the core of Chinese culture, Li says.

Well-known experts in the fields of history, archaeology and museum studies were invited to consult to enhance the exhibition and ensure its accuracy, Li adds.

He says that a variety of display methods including re-creations of scenes, sculpture, historical miniature landscapes, interactive multimedia, graphic panels and 3D printing are combined with physical exhibits to create a profound sense of historical immersion and help museumgoers assimilate the latest archaeological findings in Guizhou. Fan Tongshou, a senior local historian, who helped write the introductory texts for the exhibition, says the design outline was meticulously devised and vividly reflects Guizhou's historical context while highlighting its cultural essence.

The goal is to enable museumgoers to understand Guizhou and how historically its various ethnic groups lived, as well as the path it traversed in history, Fan says, adding that the exhibition is an overview of Guizhou's historical and cultural timeline, and documents the cultural heritage of the prehistoric era and 5,000 years of civilization.