What do trees, fire and steel have in common? BTW, the answer is not to use the first two making the third. No, instead they are the themes of three recently-opened museums in Nanjing that provide a reason to get out these dank days.
Last year, Jiangsu Province added seven museums to its already impressive tally. Four are located in Nanjing. Today, The Nanjinger briefly profiles three that promise to be a worthwhile family and/or educational trip.
According to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, as of now, there are 331 museums and memorials registered in Jiangsu province. They comprise 136 museums of cultural relics, 111 industrial museums (more than anywhere else in China) and 84 non-state-owned museums.
First up, among the three museums on which the Yangtze Evening News has reported, is the Nanjing Fire Museum. Located in the Nanjing fire rescue detachment off the Gulou roundabout, the museum covers an area of nearly 2,000 square metres.
Over two floors are displayed more than 400 fire-fighting items dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among them, star exhibit is undoubtedly a red fire engine, which was the first domestically-produced and remodeled fire engine in Nanjing.
Add: 1 Beijing Xi Lu, Gulou District. Metro Line 1/Line 4 to Gulou station. Open all day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Friday mornings only. Reservation tel: 83622173.
Then there is the Nanjing Iron and Steel Museum that is an ideal opportunity for the younger ones to learn how steel is made.
Therein, three floors of exhibition halls over 2,500 square metres trace 3,000 years of metallurgy history and 200 years of the local steel industry.
Add: 30 Xingfu Lu, Xiejaidian Jie, Liuhe District. Metro line S8 to NUIST station; bus 643/647 to Nangang Jituan. Reservation tel: 57072634.
Lastly, near to Nanjing Railway Station is the Nanjing Forestry University Museum. More accurately four mini museums in one, the forestry connection comprises tree specimens, wood specimens and animal specimens, while the last charts the university’s history. All in all, some 1,140 exhibits are on display over an exhibition area of 1,300 square metres.
Add: 159 Longpan Lu, Xuanwu District. Metro Line 3 to NFU/Xinzhuang station. Reservation tel: 85427386.
