The Beauty of Hangzhou Fan Museum

Stepping into the Hangzhou Fan Museum feels like traveling through time and entering a dream woven by countless fans.

The museum’s exterior is simple yet elegant, perfectly complementing the surrounding Jiangnan water town scenery. Upon entering, you are immediately enveloped by a strong cultural atmosphere. In the main hall, several giant folding fans are displayed, with exquisite paintings of the Ten Scenes of West Lake on the fan surfaces. The delicate brushwork and vibrant colors vividly showcase the lake and mountain scenery of West Lake, as if a gentle fan wave could stir the breeze of West Lake, bringing with it a thousand years of ancient charm.

As you slowly walk through the exhibition hall, a dazzling array of fans appears before your eyes. There are small and exquisite round fans, resembling shy and graceful young ladies waiting to be married. The fan surfaces are mostly silk, embroidered with flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, and figures, with meticulous stitching that brings them to life. Gently picking up a round fan, you can almost see an ancient woman holding it, half-shielding her delicate face, smiling softly under the flowers and moonlight.

Folding fans present a different style; they open and close freely, exuding elegance and grace. The fan ribs are made from a variety of materials, including bamboo, wood, ivory, and tortoiseshell. Among them, bamboo ribs are the most common yet the most charming. Carefully carved by artisans, the ribs are engraved with poetry, calligraphy, and paintings, with every detail reflecting the refined taste of scholars and literati. Opening a folding fan, you can almost hear the voices of ancient people discussing poetry and painting in bamboo groves, waving their fans to the breeze.

Besides admiring the fans, the museum also features an interactive experience area. Here, you can personally experience the fan-making process. From selecting the ribs, painting the fan surface, to assembling the fan, every step is full of fun and challenge. When you create a fan of your own, the sense of accomplishment and joy is beyond words.

The Hangzhou Fan Museum is not just a place to display fans; it is an artistic palace dedicated to inheriting and promoting Chinese fan culture. Here, you can appreciate the unique charm of fans and feel the profoundness of traditional Chinese culture. When you leave the museum holding a beautiful fan in your hand, it feels like holding a piece of history and sentiment, which will be forever treasured in your memory as the most beautiful memory of the city of Hangzhou.

Post by AQS. Leo 2282 | Oct 21, 2025