After a $2 million renovation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which houses one of the country’s earliest Chinese art collections, reopened its updated and reinstalled Chinese galleries. Among the improvements are modern lighting and casework, new flooring, and digital displays, as well as better sight lines that highlight more than 7,000 works in a wide range of media spanning more than 4,000 years. Strengths include Tang dynasty (618–907) tomb figures, Song dynasty (960–1127) ceramics as well as Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasty (1644–1911) imperial art and Buddhist sculpture all arranged thematically rather than chronologically, which invites viewers to see how approaches to varying art themes have changed over time. For more information, visit philamuseum.org.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Debuts New Chinese Galleries

The Philadelphia Art Museum at night, home to 7,000 works of Chinese art. Photo: Songquan Deng