The Henan Provincial Museum

A giant glass pyramid at the northern end ofJing Qi Lu, the new Henan Provincial Museum (daily 8.30am-6pm; RMB20; www. chnmus.net) boasts an outstanding collection of relics unearthed in the region, dating from the Shang dyuasty, when Henan was the cradle of Chinese civilization. Of the more than 1.3 million artefacts catalogued here, just a fi’action are displayed on three floors, elegantly laid out and labelled in English (the fourth floor is reserved for the incongruous rubber reptiles off Dinosaur World). The audioguide (RMB30, plus ~400 or your passport as a deposit) takes you through Neolithic pottery, oracle bones, Shrug bronzes, Silk Road coins, Tang glazed pottery, jade jewellery, and models of Henan’s wailed cities at the height of their affluence. Ancient musical instruments - some pulled fi-om the ground months before - are displayed in the Huaxia Concert Hall, an additional wing where performances on replicas are often held. Check at the entrance gate for the schedule.

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