The notice at the gate says the museum moved to its present address in July 2003. Not true. The old museum closed then, but it took another four years to build the new one. In fact it didn't open until June 2007, although it had been used for the International Fantastic Stone Festival in the previous November.

It was worth the wait. There are three floors of exhibits. The first floor has a free area which stages occasional exhibits. Paintings, photography etc.

In the main museum where the permanent exhibits can be found, the first floor contains a large collection of fossils found in the surrounding area. the exhibition hall is dark and there are loudspeakers playing spooky sounds - presumably an attempt to imitate the sounds of prehistoric, dinosaur ridden Liuzhou.

On the second floor is the History Gallery. This is what it says. Liuzhou from the prehistoric times through to around the Tang Dynasty. There is very little mention of modern history.

The second floor also hosts the Minorities gallery. Mock ups of minority homes sit side by side with real artefacts - clothes, jewellery, agricultural equipment etc. Perverts can even peek at a Zhuang girl having a bath!

The third floor contains two galleries. One of Zhuang bronze artefacts and one of painted fans and calligraphy.

Unfortunately, apart from the welcome notice, the only English is the names of the galleries. Exhibits are labelled in Chinese only (except for Latin names of fossils and bone remains). But I can recommend a visit as a good way of passing a couple of hours.

Entry to the museum is ¥15 per person (¥5 students), although it has been announced that it will be free from May 2009. There is a small shop on the first floor selling the usual stuff museums sell.