Though this museum is technically not in the city itself, but 40 km north of Chengdu, the extra effort to visit Sanxingdui Museum is definitely worth it. The archeological museum showcases precious cultural relics from the nearby Sanxingdui site, dating back to Neolithic times. Many of the artifacts on display are rare historical gems, never seen before and extremely influential across the globe. In 1986, two large Shang-period sacrificial pits were unearthed with more than one thousand gold, bronze, and jade objects. Besides being a ground breaking discovery for the mere worth of the items, more significantly the finds proved that Sanxingdui was the capital of the Shu Kingdom more than 3000 years ago. Though every item on display is priceless, one of the main highlights is the museum's large bronze collection, highlights of which have been exhibited both inside and outside of China.