As the temperature cools in Sichuan and we reach the midpoint of the autumn semester, it was time for another TeachDiscoverChina social activity and on 26th October it was a first for us. The first time we went to the famed Sanxingdui Archaeological Site and Museum in Guanghan together. It was wonderful to see many of our Sichuan and Chongqing based TEFL teachers, old and new, join us for a special journey into ancient China.  What is Sanxingdui?  Sanxingdui is an Archaeological Museum and key national cultural heritage site located in Guanghan City by the Yazi River of Sichuan, 38 kilometers from Chengdu and 26 kilometers from Deyang. It’s world renowned for its rich and extensive collection of unique artifacts dating as far back as 3,000 – 4,000 years ago, shining a light on an ancient Shu civilisation previously unknown. The discovery is seen as one of the greatest archaeological feats of the twentieth century and provides a fascinating glimpse into the earliest ancient Shu kingdom on record that is now modern-day Sichuan Province.  Stretching as far as 12 square kilometers (about 4.6 miles), the archaeological site is the largest and oldest relic of the ancient Shu period. Its name Sanxingdui translates as ‘three-star piles’ or three-star mounds’ and refers to the three earth mounds found at the site. Legend has it that the Heavenly Emperor had cast down three handfuls of earth that fell on the Chengdu plain by the Yazi River, becoming three earth mounds that were described as a line of three golden stars, thus the name. Modern archaeology techniques and technology has however found that the three earth mounds are actually the southern walls of an ancient city that collapsed and eroded into the three mounds seen today.  Sanxingdui was discovered in 1929 when a peasant farmer was digging a ditch and by pure luck stumbled across a bright-coloured jade, this then led to the excavation of a large number of jade items and the first glimpse of a buried ancient city. However it wasn’t till the 1980s when large-scale excavation took place over the 12 square kilometer site and what they unearthed stunned and fascinated the entire world – two sacrificial pits, workshops, tombs, residences featuring over 1,000 cultural relics from gold, bronze, jade artifacts to human and animal figurines, and ritual vessels.  Built on the edge of the dig site, the museum was officially opened in 1997. The architectural design of the building mirrors the three mound shapes. With new extensions and modern upgrades, the exhibition area has doubled in size since and now houses more than 1,500 relics. Some of the highlights include some of the largest bronze objects ever found in the ancient world such as a large intricately designed bronze tree with flowers and bird carvings on its branches, a life-size bronze figure of a tribal leader, and a series of otherworldly alien-like bronze and gold masks with bulging eyes. Now on the shortlist to become a UNESCO World Heritage site, Sanxingdui is definitely worth a visit especially for Chinese history and culture buffs, a big thumbs up from us.  Our Day in Guanghan As a benefit of being a TEFL teacher with TeachDiscoverChina we arranged the journey to Sanxingdui and covered Sanxingdui Museum entrance and tour guide fees, lunch, and transportation during their time with us (coach there and back). And so, on a nice and cool relaxing Saturday in Chengdu we met outside a designated hotel at 09:40am where some of our teachers from Chongqing, Dazhou and Nanchong had been staying. We all boarded the coach to Guanghan and the atmosphere was friendly and lively as our teachers mingled and shared their experiences. Over an hour later we arrived at a restaurant in Guanghan where we had a delicious Sichuan cuisine for lunch. After our bellies were full, a ten-minute drive took us to the Sanxingdui Museum, where our amazing English language tour guide was waiting for us. As a popular and must-visit tourist attraction it was no surprise there were crowds of visitors that weekend, luckily our tour guide had provided earpieces so as we toured the first and second floors of the exhibition hall, we could hear her guide us through the different artefacts and take us back in time to the ancient Shu civilisation for the afternoon. It was a remarkable enlightening experience, a great day all the more enjoyable with great company.  Everything Else You Need to Know about Sanxingdui  *Museum Opening times: 08:30am – 18:00pm  *Entrance Tickets: 72 RMB per ticket  *Best time to go: Workdays or non-public holiday dates to avoid large crowds *Audio Guide: 30 – 38 RMB per person *Foreign tour guide: For 1 – 10 people 400 RMB/session, for 11 – 20 people 600 RMB/session  *For more details visit the official site of Sanxingdui: https://www.sxd.cn How to Get There?  *By car, it’ll take about an hour  *You can also take the high-speed train from Chengdu East Railway Station to Guanghan North which only takes 30 mins, then Bus 13 to the museum.  *You can also take one of the sightseeing buses for tourists from Chengdu at the following locations: Wide and Narrow Alley, Chengdu Panda Base or Wuhou Temple. Please see the following link for more details: https://www.sichuantravelguide.com/chengdu-scenic-shuttle-buses-schedule.html  If you’d like to teach in China and join our next social activity, find out more about our 1-semester TEFL Internship and 1-year TEFL job program by emailing [email protected]