Wu Mayao Museum of Anthropology in Yunnan University, Kunming
The Wu Mayao Museum of Anthropology (云南大学伍马瑶人类学博物馆) is located at No. 2, Cuihu North Road, Kunming City (昆明市翠湖北路2号), beside the east gate of Yunnan University (云南大学). It officially opened on April 10, 2006, as part of a sub-project for the construction of the ethnology discipline at Yunnan University. The museum was generously funded with a donation of $700,000 from the renowned Hong Kong entrepreneur Mr. Wu Daguan (伍达观) and his wife, Ms. Wu Mayao (伍马瑶).
Museum Overview
- Total Area: 4,154 square meters
- Building Area: 4,000 square meters
- Exhibition and Reception Area: 2,100 square meters
The museum serves multiple purposes: it acts as a support unit for the teaching and research of ethnology and anthropology at Yunnan University, serves as a base for quality education, and functions as a window for external publicity and display. It plays an active role in promoting the academic traditions of Yunnan University, enriching campus cultural life, conducting relevant research and teaching, and disseminating knowledge of the humanities to society.
Collections and Exhibitions
The Wu Mayao Museum of Anthropology has developed significantly, currently housing nearly 3,000 artifacts and welcoming approximately 3,000 visitors annually. The museum features four permanent exhibitions:
- Tea Horse Road Culture Exhibition (茶马古道文化展)
- Ethnic Arts (民族艺术)
- Cultural Ecological Village Construction of Yunnan Ethnic Minorities (云南民族文化生态村建设)
- Seventy-Year Review of Anthropology and Ethnology at Yunnan University (云南大学人类学和民族学七十年回顾展)
Facilities and Research
The museum also encompasses an audiovisual anthropology laboratory, one of the earliest established in domestic universities for teaching and research in this field. It has created the first anthropological audiovisual archive in domestic higher education institutions, providing on-demand content that includes classic international documentaries, early ethnographic films from China, series featuring ethnic folk artists, and interviews with anthropologists, totaling nearly 1,000 audiovisual pieces.
Academic Courses Offered
- For Master’s Students: “Documentary Creation and Practice” (纪录片创作与实践)
- For Undergraduates: “Basics of Imaging Technology” (影像技术基础), “Visual Anthropology” (影视人类学)
Academic Activities
The Wu Mayao Museum of Anthropology hosts dozens of academic lectures annually. The audiovisual laboratory regularly organizes audiovisual anthropology salons. It has published a catalog of its collections, featuring photographs of selected artifacts with Chinese and English descriptions. Looking ahead, the museum aims to leverage the Ethnology and Sociology Institute to prepare for new exhibitions, striving to become an important institution in Yunnan that promotes interaction, communication, and integration among ethnic groups, while reinforcing the consciousness of the Chinese national community.
- ADDRESSInside Yunnan University on Beimen Jie, Kunming
昆明北门街云南大学里面
- PHONE(0871) 5031607
