Recently, the Panjin Museum held its unveiling ceremony and opened to the public. The official opening of the museum marks the inception of a state-owned museum in Panjin and signifies that each of the prefecture-level 14 cities in Liaoning now boasts a municipal museum showcasing their respective histories and cultures now.
Established as a prefecture-level city in June 1984, Panjin is located in the southwest of Liaoning, at the heart of the Liaohe River Delta. It has China’s “northernmost coastline”，stretching 107 kilometers. The region’s unique topography has shaped its historical and cultural development. According to archaeological studies, human footprints in Panjin can be traced back to over 3,000 years ago during the Neolithic period. From the distribution of eight Neolithic sites discovered, it can be inferred that the development of Panjin followed rivers and tidal creeks, gradually forming tribes and villages based on highlands and mounds, and eventually evolving into its current form as the sea receded.
To fully display Panjin’s regional culture, the Panjin Museum is built on the site of the Xinglongtai Beacon Tower of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The architectural design takes full advantage of the reconstruction completed in 1992. The Panjin Museum features five units, covering the prehistoric period to Qin and Han dynasties (before 220), Wei and Jin to Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties (220-1368), Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912), the modern period (1919-1949), and the contemporary period (after 1949). Through cultural relics and pictures, the museum presents a vivid account of the development and evolution of Panjin.
According to sources, the Panjin Museum began preparations in 2019. Currently, the museum has a collection of over 700 sets of cultural relics. Among the more than 300 sets of identified cultural relics, there are 19 sets of second-level ones and 42 sets of third-level ones. These cultural relics span from the Neolithic period to the time around the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, with the majority originating from the Warring States period (475-221 BC), Liao and Jin dynasties (907-1234), and Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912). They not only corroborate the development characteristics of Panjin throughout different periods but also serve as crucial cultural carriers of the region.
