Zhejiang Natural History Museum

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Zhejiang Natural History Museum ( 浙江 自然博物馆 , Zhèjiāng Zìrán Bówùguǎn ) is a natural history museum in Hangzhou , Zhejiang Province , People's Republic of China . It was founded in 1929. In a new building that was moved into in August 2009, there are around 130,000 exhibits on biological evolution.

History of the Zhejiang Natural History Museum

In 1929 the "West Lake Exhibition" took place in Hangzhou , which included departments for aquatic products, plants, animals, insects, gemstones, mining products and a zoo. The exhibition aroused great interest, so that the provincial government founded the “West Sea Museum” ( Xīhú Bówùguǎn西湖 博物馆) based on a petition on the whereabouts of the museum exhibits . The later director of the museum, Dong Yumao, then began to systematically get botanical exhibits from Fujian, Guangdong, Shandong and Qinghai. He promoted an international exchange of exhibits. During the anti-Japanese war , Dong Yumao and his colleagues Zhong Guoyi, Qian Huixin, Kang Meiye and Gu Jianyi managed to preserve the natural history objects, books and furnishings of the museum for posterity during multiple migrations.

For the new beginning after the founding of the PR China, the name was changed to "Zhejiang Museum" ( Zhèjiāng Bówùguǎn浙江 博物馆). In 1984 the natural history department was made independent under the current name "Zhejiang Natural History Museum". After major financial problems and a lack of public acceptance, a building was built in 1984 to accommodate the objects and for scientific work. In 1998 the premises for the exhibition followed. By embedding the restructuring in the socio-political objectives, it was possible to anchor the museum as a cooperative model in the public consciousness, so that it was possible to open the museum in a new building in 2009.

Features and contacts

Activity within China

The Zhejiang Natural History Museum operates at the provincial level within its function. It also cooperates with museums inside and outside the province, especially with museums at the city and district level and with nature reserves, by supplying these museums with exhibits, planning the presentations and training the exhibition guides. So far, more than 100 traveling exhibitions have been organized inside and outside the province. In 1987 and 1988, for example, “Chinese oil and watercolor painting” was presented in five provinces - a museum exhibition with a focus on the representation of nature. In 2001, as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, "The Mysterious Plateau in Northern Tibet - Exhibition of Research Results on Nature and Natural Resources" was held, which received high recognition from the deputation of the central government, local leaders and the masses. In 2008 the "Museum of the National Nature Reserve Tianmu Shan " was set up as a subsidiary of the NMZ , which significantly expanded the possibilities for educational presentations by the NMZ.

International contacts

At the time of the founding of the museum was an exchange with Japan and Australia, the platypus (Platypus), kangaroos, birds of paradise (Paradisaea apoda), the Japanese giant salamander and king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) included. After moving into their own building, in Japan and other countries "Chinese fossils exhibition", "Mainland China 600 million years ago - the ancient homeland of the dinosaurs, fossils from Sichuan", "Great exhibition of dinosaurs of the Jurassic era" , “Continent of the Dinosaurs” etc. carried out a total of 7 exhibitions. In 2004, close friendships were established with the " Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum ". The NMZ received about 60 foreign expert groups u. a. the “ Museum of Natural Sciences in Taichung ”, the “Central Museum of Chiba Prefecture ” (Japan), the “ Soongsil University ” (Korea), the “ American Museum of Natural History ”, the “ Dutch Academy of Sciences ”, the “German Glass Manufactory” "(?) And the" Russian Academy of Sciences ". Around 100 delegations from the fields of science, research and field research were sent to Taiwan and the USA, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Finland and Switzerland. The following projects were carried out to promote research into special areas in cooperation with foreign museums: In cooperation with the "Museum of Natural Sciences in Taizhong", the inventory and research of sea gulls in the area of ​​the Zhoushan Islands ; with the Japanese "Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum" and the " Montana State University " in open field research, dinosaur excavation, fossil research, student education, and professional staff training.

Exhibition rooms and exhibits

The exhibition rooms described below are accessible as a panorama film.

  1. The very spacious entrance hall.
  2. The second hall shows fossils of sea ​​lilies , petrified trees , the skeleton of a gray whale and examples of sharks. “They talk silently about the mystery and grandeur of life. This is how your research journey into the development of nature and life begins. "
  3. So far, the earth is the only stellar place where humanity knows that there is life. The hemispherical image shows the geomorphological changes in 4.6 billion years, including the earliest liquid state of the globe and the formation of the earth's crust through cooling up to the formation of the "blue earth".
  4. Knowledge of minerals and rocks in the earth's strata is essential for exploring and understanding the earth . Therefore, there are small cabinets next to the exhibition hall in which numerous metals and stones are shown. There are also multimedia installations for information and interactive learning, as essential information points for visitors.
  5. Life originated in the sea. The evolutionary step of life from the water to the land was very important. This scene shows how flora and fauna populated the mainland.
  6. In a smaller room, petrified amphibians and reptiles are shown behind glass windows .
  7. The surroundings of the dinosaurs in Sichuan in the Jurassic Period and the Cretaceous Period in Zhejiang in the form of panoramic graphs.
  8. The fossilized skeletons of dinosaurs and mammals, the feathered dinosaur from Mount Emei , the "Dragon of Lixian " and other fossilized skeletons of dinosaurs are exhibited here .
  9. A large geomorphological map of Zhejiang Province is located in the area of ​​the staircase. There are two exhibition halls in the exhibition area on the third floor. In the hall on the left the living environment of rare living beings is shown, in the hall on the right the green environment of Zhejiang is shown. (Some of the exhibits are the result of visitor workshops).

Address and location

The entrance to the NMZ is in a separate building to the right of the “Zhejiang World Center” and is accessible from the Westlake Cultural Plaza. The distance to the Westsee is about 6 km. Easily accessible by public transport.

  • Open daily except Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Free entry.
  • No. 6 Westlake Cultural Plaza, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • ZIP 310014
  • Telephone: 0571-85395152

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Presentation of the museum at the opening in 2009 (Chinese) . Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved on August 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ Small format panorama films of the exhibition rooms of the NMZ . NMZ. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ Contact details NMZ (chin.) . NMZ. Retrieved August 28, 2013.

Coordinates: 30 ° 14 ′ 1 ″  N , 119 ° 43 ′ 38.3 ″  E