Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwanese visitors to Sichuan offered free entry to Sanxingdui Museum as province targets tourists
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Hongkongers are being offered free admission to a museum in Sichuan showcasing ancient Chinese civilisations as part of a major push by the province to pull in visitors from the city.
Until the end of the year travellers will be able to save 72 yuan (US$10.70) at Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, where they can learn about how people lived in the region more than 3,000 years ago.
The museum, which stands on an archaeological site, contains more than 580 exhibits on art in the ancient state of Shu, where Sichuan province now lies.
Highlights include an almost four-metre-tall bronze tree sculpture with birds perched on its branches, as well as an ancient giant mask with deformed ears. Both represent the culture of worship in the state, which existed until the fourth century BC.
The free admission, which is also open to residents of Macau and Taiwan, is part of China’s celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, as well as promotions to mark 90 years since the archaeological site was discovered.