Many museum-goers are drawn by the city’s mascot, a bronze liquor warmer, the Kirin Wine Warmer, made in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Unearthed in Luzhou in 1986, the artefactis a nationally treasured first-class cultural relic and is regarded as the perfect combination of liquor culture and art in Luzhou.
The warmer weighs 9 kilograms. The drinker would light the charcoal in the lower area of the kirin, heating the wine glasses in the water of its buckets.
Another eyeopener about Luzhou’s liquor culture in the museum is the Hundred Children Stone Carving created in 1668 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The carving, formerly housed in the Zhenru Temple which was first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), has 17 scenes depicting daily life and folk customs of Luzhou.
The scene showingsix boys joyfully drinking and frolicking is quite impressive and amusing and justifies Luzhou’s reputation as a city with a strong alcohol tradition since ancient times.
Boasting a collection exceeding 10,000 cultural relics, including over 1,000 nationally precious ones, the Luzhou Museum shines particularly bright in artifacts reflecting liquor culture, stone carvings, and paintings and calligraphy.
