As the summer season approaches, museum attendance is on the rise. Observant visitors will notice that the "Anhui Civilization History Exhibition," a staple of the Anhui Provincial Museum's Shushan Hall for 15 years, has undergone a significant transformation. Its name has been updated, shifting from "Anhui Civilization History Exhibition" to "Ancient Anhui Civilization." The number of artifacts on display has expanded dramatically, increasing from over 1,000 pieces to more than 3,000. The exhibition halls themselves have been redesigned, offering greater detail clarity, more engaging narratives, and a more immersive visual experience.

This general history exhibition is a cornerstone and flagship offering of the Anhui Provincial Museum. The two-year renovation project has culminated in the complete renewal and reopening of the three chronological sections of "Ancient Anhui Civilization": "Prehistoric Anhui," "Anhui in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties," and "Anhui from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties."

"The exhibition is structured around the fundamental developmental trajectory of ancient Anhui across historical periods. Its main narrative and key content focus on presenting the exploration and distinctive features of China's million-year human history, ten-thousand-year cultural history, and over-five-thousand-year civilization history within the Anhui context. It positions the development of ancient Anhui civilization within the broader framework of Chinese civilization," explained Yan Qixin, Deputy Director of the Planning and Exchange Department at the Anhui Provincial Museum, referring to a new "curatorial outline."

This curatorial vision is realized through a large-scale addition of cultural relics and artifacts. So, which items deserve special attention? The curators have provided a highlight list.

Jade artifacts from the Lingjiatan culture, such as the jade eagle, jade human figure, and jade pig, are already familiar to many visitors. Upon their return, they are now displayed in individual cases with dedicated lighting, more "proudly" showcasing the peak of jade ritual civilization from 5,300 years ago.

The pottery *zun* vessels in the shape of pigs, fish, and cattle from the Mopanshan site are incredibly charming! Visitors captivated by their "adorable" forms will likely appreciate a dose of knowledge: "They were likely functional vessels, belonging to the Songze culture period."

Bronze containers from the Xia and Shang periods, excavated from the Feixi Sanguanmiao and Funan Taijiasi sites, are arranged impressively in the exhibition hall, providing tangible evidence of the Central Plains dynasties' influence on the Jianghuai region.

The nine *ding* tripods, eight *gui* food vessels, and inscribed bronze artifacts from the tomb of King Chu You at Li San Gudui are almost entirely on display. They are exhibited alongside the bronze *ding* of King Chu Xiong Han, on loan from the Tianjin Museum, achieving a "century-spanning display of artifacts from two generations of Chu kings" in the same hall.

The section "Anhui from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties" is a hall that particularly emphasizes historical depth and contains the highest proportion of new items in this update, with a notable "debut" effect.

Han Dynasty lacquerware is displayed collectively for the first time, showcasing the lacquer manufacturing techniques of the Han period in the Anhui region. The tomb of the King of Liuan is presented with a more complete display of the tomb chamber structure and details of the *huangchang ticou* (timber-framed burial chamber), accompanied by the first exhibition of musical instruments (such as bells, chime stones, and bells) from the Han to Six Dynasties period. Artifacts from the "Tianzi Fen" (Son of Heaven's Tomb) are collectively displayed for the first time, revealing the high-level aristocratic burial customs of the Eastern Wu state during the Three Kingdoms period.

Naturally, the exhibition also includes the Dongyang County wooden slips recording household registers and the Jizhuang wooden slips with medical prescriptions, which shed light on local administration and medical knowledge during the Qin and Han dynasties. There are also substantial additions of Xin'an School paintings, Huizhou ink sticks, Huizhou-style woodblock prints, and Xin'an Neo-Confucian literature, along with new presentations of artifacts related to the Tongcheng School and the "Six-Foot Lane."

What underpins this influx of new artifacts? The logic behind the "list" is worth noting. Stepping out of the archaeological site, the museum should be the primary venue for transforming archaeological discoveries into public exhibits.

The renovation systematically incorporates major recent archaeological findings from Anhui, including the Fanchang Renzidong site (evidence of hominin activity from 2.56 million years ago), the Dongzhi Hualongdong site (the earliest hominin in East Asia evolving towards *Homo sapiens*), engraved symbols from Bengbu Shuangdun, the latest sacrificial area at Lingjiatan, Feixi Sanguanmiao, Funan Taijiasi, the Ming Zhongdu capital site (a 2021 National Top Ten Archaeological Discovery), and the Langxi Mopanshan site (a 2023 National Top Ten Archaeological Discovery). Numerous new discoveries are assembled here!

Visitors can also see exhibition designs that incorporate new research conclusions, such as those from scientific archaeology (phytolith analysis showing co-existence of rice and millet at Shuangdun), music archaeology (Han to Six Dynasties musical instruments), and the "I"-shaped layout of Ming Zhongdu palace structures. Research on Lingjiatan jade ritual vessels and Chu culture ritual systems directly informed the arrangement of artifact groupings. These numerous new conclusions make this "assembly" more scientifically comprehensive.

Stepping out of the museum storage, the exhibition hall is always the museum's primary front for serving the public. For this update, the Anhui Provincial Museum retrieved numerous first and second-grade artifacts that had long been in storage or dispersed across the province. They were re-contextualized according to their "original excavation site/original tomb sequence" to restore the artifacts to their original archaeological context. Simultaneously, various high-quality artifacts were borrowed from the Provincial Institute of Archaeology and museums across Anhui's cities.

This allows visitors to appreciate a concentrated display of previously unexhibited items from tombs such as the Zhu Ran tomb, the King of Liuan tomb, and the King Chu You tomb (Li San Gudui). This represents a deep excavation and integration of museum collections within the province.

These artifacts, originating from archaeological excavation sites, museum storage, and other collections across the province, have come together for this concentrated presentation, yet they have undergone rigorous selection by the curatorial team.

The Renzidong site speaks to the "million-year human history," the Shuangdun engravings to the "sprouts of writing," Lingjiatan to "ancient state civilization," and the nine *ding* and eight *gui* from the King Chu You tomb to the "collapse of ritual." This is their "value in evidencing history" – providing concrete proof of Anhui's role within the pluralistic yet integrated structure of Chinese civilization.

Additionally, the curatorial team considered factors such as the representative significance, rarity level, and public appeal of the new exhibits. Translating academic terminology into everyday language, reconstructing research findings into contextual settings, digitally animating static artifacts, and incorporating visitor feedback into exhibition design... This detailed "sneak peek" from the curators is here, but how visitors perceive it and what they choose to focus on ultimately requires a personal visit to the museum to discover.