신장 위구르 자치구 박물관

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum (Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Bowuguan) is the principal regional museum of Xinjiang, located in the Saybagh district of Urumqi. It houses the most comprehensive collection of archaeological and ethnographic material from the Tarim Basin, the Tian Shan, and the surrounding Silk Road corridors, and it is the single most important stop in Urumqi for travelers interested in the deep history of the region.

The museum's best-known exhibits draw on the dry-preserved burials of the eastern Tarim Basin. The "Loulan Beauty," a naturally mummified body recovered from the Lop Nor region and dated to roughly 1800 BCE, is among the most famous archaeological finds in Central Asia and anchors a gallery devoted to the early populations of the oasis belt. The same hall presents other preserved remains, recovered clothing, hats, and footwear, and a selection of tools and ornaments that give a sense of the material culture of these early oasis communities.

A second highlight is the textile and manuscript collection, including the "Five Stars Rising in the East Bring Benefit to China" Han-dynasty brocade armguard, recovered from the Niya site in the southern Tarim Basin and widely reproduced in Chinese textbooks. Adjacent cases display silk fragments, wool tapestries, and cotton textiles from sites along the Silk Road, together with early paper documents in Chinese, Kharosthi, Sanskrit, Sogdian, Tibetan, and Uyghur script.

The ethnographic galleries present the dress, music, household equipment, religious objects, and festival life of the principal communities of Xinjiang, with reconstructed interiors including a Uyghur courtyard, a Kazakh felt yurt, and a Mongol lamaist shrine. These halls are particularly useful for travelers who will not have time to visit the rural regions where these traditions are still practiced.

The museum has been recently expanded and the building itself is worth noting, with broad galleries, good lighting, and improved circulation compared with the older halls. Plan on two to three hours for a thorough visit; English captions are present for the principal objects but not comprehensive, and the free English audio guide is recommended. The museum is closed on Mondays and admission is free with passport identification. It is the natural starting point for any Urumqi itinerary and an essential complement to the field sites of the Tarim Basin.