THE construction of a new building of the renowned Sanxingdui museum began Tuesday in Guanghan, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

The new building is located in the Sanxingdui museum park, with a total floor area of approximately 55,000 square meters — five times the size of the museum’s current buildings.

The new building will house the cultural artifacts unearthed from the No. 1 and No. 2 pits of the Sanxingdui Ruins site, as well as important cultural artifacts unearthed in future excavation projects.

“A world-class museum and a national archaeological site park are planned, making the museum a national cultural symbol showcasing the origins and development of Chinese civilization,” said Wang Juzhong, director of the management commission of the Sanxingdui Ruins site.

Construction has two parts: the main project and the exhibition project. It has a total investment of approximately 1.43 billion yuan (US$224.7 million). The exhibition project is expected to be completed in October 2023.

The new building will consist of three undulating circular structures stacked on top of each other, said Li Wenbo, who is in charge of the construction.

Discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been called one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Covering 12 square kilometers, the ruins are located in the city of Guanghan in Sichuan Province, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, the provincial capital. They are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom, which survived for over 2,000 years. The ruins date back at least 4,800 years.

By the end of last year, over 10,000 relics, including golden masks, figurines and ivory objects had been unearthed from the six recently unearthed sacrificial pits.

(Xinhua)