The Chu Culture is one of the most important parts of the Chinese Culture. In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 BC) and the Warring States period (476-221 BC), Chu was the largest country in area within the territory of Hubei with its capital at Jiangling for 400 years.

Chu once tried to conquer the Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River), and became one of the five super powers in the Spring and Autumn Period as well as one of the 7 powerful states in the Warring States Period.

Chu had once reached a very high level in the fields of bronze smelting, colorful weaving on silk, embroidery, lacquer ware manufacturing, etc. Great achievements had also been made in the artistic field, which was mainly demonstrated in music, dancing, paintings, sculptures, etc.

The chime bells unearthed from the tomb of Yi, a high official of the ancient State Zeng at Suizhou are gems among the ancient musical instruments in the world. They are praised as “the eighth miracle in the ancient world”.

The Tonglushan Relic of the ancient mineral smelting at Daye is the largest and oldest mineral-smelting relic discovered in China. It has a history of 3,000 years and is called “the hometown of bronze.”