On January 16, the Nanjing Municipal Museum (Chaotian Palace) inaugurated an exhibition to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, showcasing more than 180 cultural relics and intangible cultural heritage items all themed with the Chinese dragon.

The exhibits include two earliest dragon-shaped jade ornaments ever found in Nanjing, excavated from the Yingpanshan ruins, a communal burial site dating back over 5,000 years.

The exhibition also features a dragon sculpture made from several mussel shells, found at the Xuecheng ruins in Nanjing’s Gaochun District in 2021. The design, reminiscent of a crocodile resting on the ground, is thought to be inspired by the Yangtze alligator and reflects primitive beliefs and totem worship in ancient times, as explained by the exhibition’s curator. The crocodile is seen as a primary inspiration for the image of the legendary creature in Chinese mythology.

In ancient times, the dragon motifs were prevalent on bronzeware. This exhibition also shows a bronze utensil with dragon patterns from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), unearthed in Banqiao, Nanjing’s Yuhuatai District.

Another highlight is a Western Zhou bronze vessel also decorated with dragon motifs. Experts believe that this chime bell set originally consisted of eight pieces, though only five remain, scatted across domestic and international museums, including the one at the Nanjing Municipal Museum.

Additionally, a celadon pot from the Southern Dynasties period (420-589), featuring a dragon-head handle, was recently excavated from a well in the West Street ruins near the Zhonghua Gate.

The exhibition marked the eighth consecutive year that the Nanjing Municipal Museum has hosted featuring the 12-animal zodiac. It will remain open until the end of March.