Liling Museum

Liling Museum
醴陵市博物馆（毛泽东考察湖南农民运动纪念馆）

Address:
Liling Ceramics Museum: Within China Ceramics Valley on Cigu Dadao, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Liling, Zhuzhou, Hunan province
Mao Zedong Memorial Hall for the Hunan Peasant Movement Investigation: No 30, Dongzheng Jie, Liling, Zhuzhou, Hunan province
Opening hours: 9 am-12 pm (last entry 11 am); 1 pm-5 pm (last entry 4 pm)
Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
General admission: Free

Liling Museum is the only county-level first class museum in Hunan province, performing the functions of artifact collection, archaeological research, cultural and creative product development, public education, and cultural exchange. It comprises two venues — the Liling Ceramics Museum and the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall for the Hunan Peasant Movement Investigation.

The Liling Ceramics Museum houses a rich collection, including ceramics, bronze ware and silver ware, as well as paintings and calligraphy. The permanent exhibition The Way of Liling Porcelain Industry highlights the development of Liling’s ceramics heritage, the great achievements of its underglaze five-colored porcelain and the vitality of modern industrial ceramics.

A highlight is the underglaze five-color vase with a trumpet-shaped flared mouth and motifs of sweet peas and a pair of bamboo partridges, which won a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.

The Mao Zedong Memorial Hall for the Hunan Peasant Movement Investigation is located within Liling’s Temple of Agriculture, a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) site once used by county magistrates to offer sacrifices to the god of agriculture. From Jan 27 to 31, 1927, Mao Zedong (1893-1976) lodged here for five days and conducted an investigation into the peasant movement in Liling.

The memorial hall hosts two permanent exhibitions — the Restoration Exhibition of Liling’s Temple of Agriculture and the Exhibition on Mao Zedong’s Investigation of the Hunan Peasant Movement, vividly recount Mao’s investigation practices in Liling county during the National Revolution period (1924-27) and highlight Mao’s close connection with the people.