Hongshan Relic Museum and Wu Cultural Museum

Established in April 2008, the Hongshan Relic Museum and Wu Cultural Museum serve as China's only museum's specializing in relics originating from the Wu and Yue Kingdoms, housing a large relic preservation research center that focuses specifically on the discovery, preservation, and research of large-scale relics.

Wu cultural history dates back more than 3,000 years during the Zhou Dynasty, when Taibo, the eldest son of Emperor Zhou Taiwang and next in line as Emperor, left his kingdom for the southern reaches of the Yangtze River. There he founded the Wu Kingdom and is credited with establishing the Wu Culture. His vast efforts to promote the southern regions of the Yangtze River were revealed through the establishment of three subsequent kingdoms in the area. Upon his death, Taibo was buried at Meili in the city of Wuxi, but greatness lived on through later generations, warranting him great respect for his contributions throughout the region. 

The Hongshan relic site was established at the area where Taibo was buried. As a center of Wu Culture, a vast number of cultural relics have been discovered throughout the city of Wuxi. The Wu Cultural Museum houses a sprawling collection of relics and documents citing political, economic, and societal history relating to Wu Culture.
With a collection of more than 2,000 relics, the Hongshan Relic Museum is most noted for its tomb relic sites. Discovered in 2004, the site quickly gained wide recognition and is now preserved as a key cultural site under the national cultural relic protection unit.

The museums were designed in conjunction by Cui Cai, a domestic architect and deputy dean of China’s Architectural Design Research Institute, and a number of contributing professors and institutions including Fudan University and the Nanjing Museum.