Originally called the Chongqing Municipal Museum, this museum moved to its more modern and spacious location mid-2005. While still lacking a certain charisma, several items in this museum make the trip worthwhile. First is its lovely collection of Tang and Song heads carved out of stone. Most are of Buddha, Guanyin, and various bodhisattvas, but what distinguishes them are their human rather than heavenly miens. A fine collection of terra-cotta sculptures from an Eastern Han tomb is also on the display. Discovered in Chongqing north of the Yangzi, they are small, whimsical figurines of musicians, dancers, singers, and storytellers -- a lively group to spend eternity with. The museum also boasts collections that go back in time as far as the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600-1045 B.C.). Of particular interest are the paulownia-wood "boat coffins" of the ancient Ba culture.
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