The Guangxi Nationalities Museum, opened in 2008 on Qinghuan Road in Qingxiu District, is the single best introduction to the cultural richness of Guangxi's twelve officially recognised minority nationalities. The collection spans the Zhuang (the largest minority group in China, with nearly 20 million people in Guangxi alone), the Miao, Yao, Dong, and eight other groups, covering textiles, ceramics, religious objects, and the everyday material culture of communities scattered across a province the size of Germany.
The bronze drum collection is the highlight: some drums are over a metre in diameter, with frogs cast around the tympanum and elaborate geometric patterns on the face that encode cosmological meaning. The exhibition explains how the drums were used — sounded to summon warriors, mark harvests, call rain — and how their possession was a measure of a chief's authority. The acoustic demonstrations are worth seeking out. The museum is free and well-maintained, with English signage throughout the main galleries.