The Guyuan Museum on Xicheng Road organises its permanent collection chronologically from the Stone Age through the Silk Road period to the Qing dynasty, making it one of the better-structured regional museums in the northwest. Admission is free, and the labels are in English as well as Chinese — a relative luxury in this part of the country.
The collection's strongest sections cover the Bronze Age Yanglang culture, which occupied this part of the Loess Plateau from roughly the 6th to the 3rd century BCE, and the Silk Road period spanning the Han through Tang dynasties. Guyuan sat on a major branch of the Silk Road, and the tombs excavated from the surrounding hills have yielded an exceptional range of artefacts including imported glass, Byzantine coins, Zoroastrian-influenced metalwork, and the gilded bronze horses that are the museum's most celebrated pieces.
Allow two hours for a thorough visit. The museum building is modern and the galleries are well lit. Photography is permitted.