Located at the Xianggang mountain in Yuexiu Park in Guangzhou City, the Western Han (206BC-220AD) Nanyue King Tomb, is considered the next major discovery after the finding of the Han Dynasty tombs in Mancheng county in Hebei province and the Mawangdui Tomb in Hunan, thus the museum is on national key protection list, and has become one of the famous museums in the world.
The tomb, which dates back to 2,000 years ago, is the earliest large-scale painted stone-chamber tomb ever found in south of the Five Ridges. It was originally 20 meters under Elephant Hill before it was discovered in 1983. With10.85 meters in length and 12.43 meters in the width, the tomb consists of the front and rear chambers. More than 1000 funerary objects were excavated, including a chariot, gold and silver vessels, musical instruments, and human sacrifices. Buried with the tomb owner in jade shroud are a gold seal and a lot of exquisite jade adornments. The 200-odd jade articles and 500 bronze wares are the important ones that feature the characteristics of the Nanyue (Southern Yue) Culture, Chu culture and the Han culture in the Central Plains.
The museum has three basic displays: the original site of the tomb, excavations from the Nanyue King's Tomb arranged in the restored seven tomb chambers, and the history records of the Nanyue Kingdom.
The museum was opened to the public in October 1989 and reopened to the public in October 2002 after its six months' renovation. The newly-installed security system with more than 200 cameras and monitors can protect the museum safely, and the air conditioning system can guarantee the exhibition hall to be kept under constant temperature and humidity so that the artifacts on display will not be damaged. More advanced electronic appliances such as electronic screens and a recorded guide system have also been installed. The services are very tourist－friendly and include information about the exhibits.
