Travel
2026.08.21 15:08 GMT+8

Faces behind the gold

Updated 2026.08.21 15:08 GMT+8
CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

This is a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province. Made from thin gold sheets, such masks may once have been attached to bronze heads or wooden figures. /CGTN

The gold at Sanxingdui, an archeological museum in Sichuan Province, was more than decoration. Delicately shaped from thin gold sheets, these masks may once have covered bronze heads or wooden figures and played a role in ritual ceremonies. Look closely at the openings around the eyes and ears, as well as the traces left on the gold surface – details that hint at how these mysterious objects may once have been used. 

Copyright © 

RELATED STORIES