In order to help international students in getting to know the Chinese history and development, on December 3 and December 4, USTC arranged cultural trips to Anhui Museum for the international students.

Anhui Provincial Museum or Anhui Museum located in Hefei, the provincial capital city, is the only provincial-class comprehensive museum. The whole building complex strongly and typically features the classical architectural style of Huizhou, the southernmost city of Anhui province, and the distinction of the building could be summarized as “The Water of Four Sides Collected in the Hall, and Interconnected from Five Directions” (四水归堂, 五方相连). Anhui Provincial Museum now is a landmark, and honored to be the only museum of China that Chairman Mao once visited, so the name tablet is shown in the calligraphic script style of Mao. In 2011, it was upgraded to Yuan (院) from Guan (馆), though it shares the same word museum in English.

The highlighted exhibitions are mainly featured by its historical cultural relics which strongly depict the local history and development history. The most spotlighted collections are bronze-wares of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, metal-made coins and currencies of Chu Kingdom, which was a superpower equivalent to Qin Kingdom before the foundation of Chinese first unified Dynasty---Qin Dynasty, Stone Image and Figure Sculpture of Han Dynasty, Four Treasures in Scholar’s Study, Silver and Gold Wares of Yuan Dynasty, Calligraphy and Painting Masterpieces of Xin’an School, Huizhou Carving, Printed Painting of Huizhou Style, Rare and Treasured Books and Documents as well as Huizhou Folk Agreements and so on.

The most interesting and rewarding part of the museum to international students, was to see the different kinds of brushes used for calligraphy in China and ink-slab, as the traditional tool for the ink-stick, was evolved from the mortar and pestle in the Neolith Age. 

Similarly, it was very informative for students to know about the history and material of the Xuan paper widely used in the painting and calligraphy.  In China, the Xuan paper is considered as the “King of the Paper” for its strong tensile strength, smooth surface and clean texture, which reflects the clear strokes of the writing brush after it readily absorbs the ink, and displays great resistance to crease, corrosion, moth and mold over the years.

Overall, it was very interesting and informative visit and international students learnt a lot about the history and people of China.