Yellow River National Museum

The Yellow River is considered the cradle of Chinese culture. In addition to its historic importance for China’s cultural development, the Yellow River National Museum also addresses the geographical aspects of the approximately 5,000 kilometers long river. The new museum building reflects the meandering course of the river and forms a bridge between nature and civilization in terms of both urban design and content. With its streamlined contours, the building emerges from and becomes an integral part of the hilly landscape on the banks of the river. Gently rising and falling, the polygonal building crosses a watercourse in the park. As a continuation of the park, the green roof landscape leads to viewpoints across the Yellow River to the north and the city of Zhengzhou in the south. The seemingly solid facades of the museum represent protection against the power of the mighty river. In the interior, visitors are guided through the museum by curved walls resembling washed-out stone and ceilings reflecting a pale yellow. Functionally, the building is divided into exhibition areas in the northern wing and areas for the museum educational services, archive, library, and service functions in the southern wing. The four exhibition halls covering a total area of 40,000 square meters provide space for exhibitions on the history and ecology of the Yellow River, as well as rotating exhibitions and themed areas.