Situated in Guanghan city, about 50 km north of Chengdu, Sanxingdui Museum is a place to learn about Bashu culture that once existed and mysteriously disappeared in Sichuan.

In 1986, a farmer discovered two sacrificial pits. After thirty years of excavation, more than 4,000 relics unearthed are exposed in two exhibition halls. The First Exhibition Hall exhibits gold, copper, jade, stone, pottery, etc, while the Second Exhibition Hall is specially used to exhibit bronze.

These artifacts date from the Bronze Age and demonstrate an advanced bronze working and casting technique for the time. This civilization, which seems to have lasted about 2,000 years, suddenly disappeared, and the reasons are still unknown.

Over 10,000 objects of bronze, gold, jade, bone, or ivory have been found to date, some of which are displayed in a 7,000 square meter museum in Guanghan, north of Chengdu.

The Sanxingdui culture seems to be contemporary with the Shang dynasty, and it developed a completely different technique for making bronze. Strangely, this culture was never directly mentioned by Chinese historians, nor are there any writings that clarify its nature.

Three objects deserve special attention when visiting the Sanxingdui Museum: six bronze humanoid masks covered with gold leaf, the statue of a slender man with huge hands on a pedestal, and the spirit tree.