The only complete jade burial suit to be displayed in Changsha

On May 18, International Museum Day, an exhibition featuring the archaeological discoveries made in Guangzhou will open at Changsha Museum in central China's Hunan.

This special exhibition brings together 250 precious Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 B.C.-220 AD) dynasty relics excavated from the Guangzhou region, including 24 national-level cultural relics. The only complete Han Dynasty jade burial suit with red threads is the highlight.

A jade burial suit is a ceremonial suit made from pieces of jade for royal members of the Han Dynasty. The one currently on display is 1.73 meters long and made from 2,291 pieces of jade sewn together using red silk thread.

Pieces of jade connected with gold, silver, or copper were commonly used in such suits. However, this garment is exceptional because the jade is linked with silk, rendering it one of a kind.

The suit is symmetrical, much like modern-day shirts, which was a new type of design at the time, never before seen in literature or archaeological excavations. It took experts three years to complete its restoration. This precious jade suit was unearthed from the mausoleum of the Nanyue King and is usually housed at the museum dedicated to the king’s final resting place.

The mausoleum ranks as the largest painted stone chamber tomb from the Han Dynasty found in southern China. Over 1,000 sets and more than 10,000 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed there, with the bounty of burial objects marking the peerless status of the tomb owner. It is known as one of the five major archaeological discoveries in China from the 1980s.

A gold seal found on the chest of the tomb owner with a word written on the seal provides reliable evidence of the owner's identity. It is the largest gold seal from the Western Han Dynasty ever excavated in China and the only Han Dynasty dragon knob-shaped emperor seal found to date.

The exhibition will run until Nov. 12.