Editor's note

When the first phase of the Hainan Provincial Museum officially opened to the public on November 15, 2008, it became China's youngest comprehensive provincial museum. Now an important cultural landmark and window for displaying Hainan, the museum has—over the past 15 years— diligently fulfilled its mission to enhance and shape the province's cultural influence.

Roundly praised by visitors as being "well worth the trip" and for helping to open their eyes to the charm that Hainan has possessed ever since antiquity, each and every one of the relics on display at the Provincial Museum embodies the essence of the island's history and culture. From the once embarrassing situation of "having relics but no building in which to display them" to becoming a landmark structure that uses culture to "weave" beautiful scenes, the Hainan Provincial Museum doesn't just tell history but witnesses it.

Image from "Customs of the Li People" provided by Hainan Provincial Museum.

An example of one of the treasures found at the museum is a Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912) pictorial in Exhibition Hall 17. Fifteen pages in total, the square Qiong Li Fengsu Tu "Customs of the Li People" book is approximately 33cm on a side. The earliest known pictorial of the Li (Hlai) ethnicity, this book—which combines images with text to describe the geography of the regions where the Li live and their customs (including architecture, weaving, farming, singing, marriage, hunting, fishing, and trade)—is part of a Chinese tradition dating back over 1,000 years.

Although it sits silently in its display cabinet, not a few of the visitors to the museum come specifically because they are attracted by its reputation. That said, few people know the rocky path it traveled to the Hainan Provincial Museum.

Donated to Henan's Xinxiang Museum by General Zhao Teng-yu (1898–1937), after the "Customs of the Li People" was featured in Beifang Wenwu "Northern Cultural Relics" in 1986, it caught the attention of relevant departments in the Hainan Administrative Region. Sending people to Xinxiang to negotiate, it would take three and a half years, and nearly a dozen meetings before parties in Henan were sufficiently moved by the perseverance of the now newly formed province and agreed to send this cultural relic "home".

Photo by Hainan Provincial Museum.

“Because the Li lack a written language, it is challenging to form an accurate picture of their development history. Therefore—as a tool for studying the history of the Li—one cannot overstate the value found in how this early pictorial's text and images display their historic customs," said Su Qiya (Hainan Provincial Museum Director). Although the journey home by the "Customs of the Li People" predates the construction of the current building 15 years ago, this story is a vivid example of the hard work that the Museum and its staffers have put in at discovering and displaying Hainan's culture.

"The relics collected by our museum showcase our province's unique history and culture, our ethnic minorities and their culture, our maritime heritage, and our connection with the Hainanese diaspora," said Wang Huishan (Hainan Provincial Museum Deputy Director and Research Librarian). Meaning "mysterious wonderland in the far south," the theme of the museum's comprehensive exhibition of Hainan's historical style and unique culture is based on a poem by Hainanese scholar Qiu Jun (1421 - 1495).

Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) celadon glazed porcelain vase provided by Hainan Provincial Museum.

This patterned Han Dynasty (202 B.C. - 220 C.E.) double-eared copper cauldron is another important treasure of the Hainan Provincial Museum. A cooking utensil left behind when the Han army conquered the island, it is substantial physical evidence of the central government already having a presence on Hainan nearly 2,000 years ago.

Among the cultural relics related to the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the remains of the "Huaguang Reef I" shipwreck and the relics collected on Huaguang Reef are not only vital to understanding international trade patterns during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), they are also a landmark case in Chinese underwater archeology's moving ever deeper.

Photo by Hainan Provincial Museum.

Among the relics coming from ethnic minorities, Li brocade is particularly special. The "dragon quilts" belonging to the museum are the culmination of the Li's artistry at spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery.