Regional Chinese collections

John Rylands Library

The University's John Rylands Library has a rich collection of over 600 illustrated Chinese books and volume of 16th to 20th century covering a wide range of topics from medicine, textile, art, history to literature. The collection also include one of the four sets of copper plate drawings of Yuanmingyuan, the royal palace which was destroyed by British and French soldiers in the mid of 19th century.

The exhibition Qing: China's Multilingual Empire was at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library from 21 October 2021 to 13 March 2022. Exploring the languages and culture of China's last dynasty, the exhibition featured new research funded by The University of Manchester, with support from the Confucius Institute.

The Manchester Museum

The Manchester Museum has over 600 objects ranging from bronze, metalwork, and statues to snuff bottles and textiles.

Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery is known for its high quality Qing porcelain from 17th to 19th century.

Macclesfield Silk Museum

Macclesfield Silk Museum has a collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century silk garments, pattern books, design examples, showing influence of Eastern Asia silk on domestic production.

Get in touch

We are willing to talk to any organisation which has a Chinese collection and may benefit from knowledge and resources to make sense of their collection.