Chongqing- The China Chongqing Three Gorges Museum has opened a new guest exhibition called 'Love for Musical Instruments,' themed on Chinese bells and zithers dating from three thousand years ago through to the Qing Dynasty. The collection on display features over fifty original relics brought together from five museums in Chongqing, Sichuan, and Hubei Province and is open to the public through December this year.

Exhibits and illustrations inside the hall recount the history of bells and zithers over the past three millennia, which are the most representative of traditional Chinese culture, and accurately recreate the musical world that ancients once developed.

Bells and zithers on display cover the Warring States period through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, making this one of the most comprehensive exhibitions in the world. Inside the hall, visitors can see the earliest ten-stringed zither from the Warring States, the 'phoenix' zither from the Northern Song Dynasty, which produces a pleasing sound, and even the zither once played by the famous Dutch sinologist Robert Hans Van Gulik.

The bells are hung in lined sets from a crossbeam in order of size, with each one striking an individual musical note, similar to the wooden blocks of a xylophone. In addition, the bells were assembled using two separate plates cast in bronze fixed together at the center and can produce a different tone when a musician strikes either the main body or sides.

In ancient times, bell sets were mainly reserved for the imperial court for important occasions and symbolized prestige. Inside the exhibition hall is a short video projection featuring a live performance of ancient instruments held regularly in Wuhan, Hubei Province. It serves to help visualize the overall musical effect and how they are played.

Guqin, or ancient zithers, have long been a favored instrument of literati in China for thousands of years and enjoy prominence among the famous artistic pursuits of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

These beautiful instruments display exquisite craftsmanship and require high musical discipline. They also embody the ideals and spiritual sustenance of lettered culture throughout history, as they are frequently evoked in poetry and traditional artwork.

The exhibition also features a stage for live demonstrations of traditional Chinese zither music, a fascinating collection of elegantly designed cultural products for sale, and a full mock-up of the personal study once used by the sinologist Robert Hans Van Gulik, replete with in-depth illustrations.

The Love for Musical Instruments exhibition is now open for visitors on the fourth floor, and members of the public are welcome to view the displays until the close date of December 6, 2022. The China Chongqing Three Gorges Museum was first opened in 2005 following the dam's completion and preserving the region's history, culture and wisdom from ancient times to the present day.