Lüshun Museum and old Port Arthur

About this place

A gateway to the history of Lüshunkou, the natural ice-free harbour at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula known in the West as Port Arthur; it was fought over by the great powers in the late nineteenth century and was a cause of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, returning to China after the Second World War. The museum itself is among the oldest in northeast China, begun in 1915 in a grand classical building; it holds Chinese bronzes, ceramics and calligraphy and a rare Central Asian collection gathered by Japanese expeditions in the early twentieth century, and it became a national first-class museum in 2008. The town also has a Russian-style brick-and-timber railway station opened in 1903 and Baiyu Hill, which overlooks the whole harbour and carries a stone tower raised by the Japanese army after the Russo-Japanese War, while parts of the harbour are a naval base closed to visitors. Entry to the museum is free, though booking may be needed, and Baiyu Hill costs about CNY 40, per visitor guides. Lüshun needs at least half a day and is reached by metro and bus from Dalian.