As an open book to the glorious West Han Dynasty, Mawangdui Han Tombs is absolutely one of the most fascinating attractions throughout Hunan Province. Situated within the Hunan Provincial Museum, the Mawangdui Han Tombs Museum exhibits the tombs and objects which dated back of at least 2000 years. The museum is made up from three separate tombs containing the senior Minister of the State of Chu, his wife, and son. The articles excavated from the tomb have been highly important in researching this very wealthy and sophisticated southern-Chinese culture.
About 500 pieces of objects were found in the Number 3 Tomb in which consists of cups, saucers, boxes, kettle, tables, screens, and a variety of other objects. Historians have concluded that most of these objects were the items of daily use for the owner of the tomb when she was alive. These objects had been buried for 2,000 years, and yet are as freshly colored and complete today as when they were new. The Number 1 tomb produced 48 bamboo cases in which all kinds of agricultural products, fruit, meat, Chinese herbal medicines and so on were packed. Moreover, both Number 1 and Number 3 tombs produced a large amount of silk material which has great value for the research of ancient Chinese textiles. All of these artifacts are displayed in the first room of the museum.
On top of that, a 2,000-year-old female corps which excavated from Number 1 Tomb is displayed in the second exhibition room of the museum. All kinds of measures were adopted during her burial, including burying the coffin very deeply and sealing it tightly so that the coffin lacked oxygen as fuel for bacteria. The corpse therefore still had hair, its joints were limber and the soft organs were still soft. At the end of 1972, medical research was carried out on the corpse. The blood-type of the lady was A-type; during her lifetime she suffered from both lung and heart disease.
If you wish to understand more regarding the life of an aristocrat at the time of Western Han Dynasty, then a visit to Mawangdui Han Tombs is a must. Besides having the opportunity to take a closer look of the actual artifacts during that period, you can also understand the politics, economics, cultural and scientific technologies that applied during that period of time. It is as though one were reading an encyclopedia on the Western Han period.