[2025 Hangzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum (Updated May)

Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum includes the main museum and three theme museums: swords, scissors, umbrellas, and fans, which correspond to the three major characteristics of Hangzhou: Zhang Xiaoquan scissors, Wang Xingji fans, and West Lake silk umbrellas. Here, you can not only have a general understanding of the history of Hangzhou's art, but also see craftsmen demonstrate the production process. Regional distribution The museum is located on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The buildings are rebuilt from old factories. Geographically, it can be divided into several blocks: the main building of the Arts and Crafts Museum, the China Knife, Scissors and Sword Museum and the China Umbrella Museum in the south of the block, and the China Fan Museum and the Handicraft Live Exhibition Hall in the north. Each venue is less than a 10-minute walk away. If the visit time is less than one and a half hours, it is recommended to choose one of the blocks to visit. If you have enough time (about 2.5 hours, excluding experience activities), you can choose to visit both areas at the same time. Main Museum The main building of the museum is on the south side of the community. The exhibits here are a general introduction to sculptures, ceramics, embroidery, weaving, metals and some folk crafts. The craft workshop on the third floor has projects such as cloth appliques, magnetic paper cutting, and cross-stitch to play with (extra fees apply). Knife, Scissors and Sword Museum The Sword, Scissors and Umbrella Museums were rebuilt from the Qiaoxi local specialty warehouse, and are located a little north of the main museum. In the Scissors Exhibition Hall on the first floor of the Sword, Scissors and Umbrella Museum, you can learn about the origin and evolution of scissors, as well as the development history of Zhang Xiaoquan scissors; the Sword and Sword Exhibition Hall on the second floor uses pictures and real objects to display the production process of swords and their role in people's lives. You can not only see a variety of swords from home and abroad, weapons from the cold weapon era, swords that symbolize identity and authority, and even the equipment of fencing athletes... You will also be amazed at the swords in various forms, playing roles from daily necessities to weapons, and even symbols of identity and authority. Umbrella Museum The Umbrella Museum next to it also has two floors. The first floor is worth seeing, which shows the development process from oil-paper umbrellas, oil-cloth umbrellas to West Lake silk umbrellas, as well as wax figures and pictures showing the umbrella-making scenes. The nostalgic oil-paper umbrellas and beautiful West Lake silk umbrellas in the exhibition hall make people feel that umbrellas are not only a tool for sheltering from the rain, but also a symbol of beauty. Fan Museum Walking north along the canal, the Fan Museum is not far away. There are still displays and introductions about fans. In this area, the handicraft living ecological museum, which was converted from the former Tongyigong Cotton Mill opposite the exit of the Fan Museum, is particularly worth seeing. There are craftsmen in the museum who demonstrate the crafts of forging Zhang Xiaoquan scissors and making West Lake silk umbrellas. In addition, there are many group experience activities to participate in, such as painting fan ribs, assembling straight-handled umbrellas, paper cutting, etc., with craftsmen teaching in person. These experience activities are very suitable for children, who can learn knowledge while doing it. The experience activities cost several dozen yuan per person or per item, and there are certain number of people required. You can call the Attraction in advance to inquire. The streets Souvenir the museum are also worth a visit. There are many teahouses, restaurants, and cafes along the canal where you can eat and rest. Hangzhou's famous Xiaofeng Bookstore also opened a branch here.