Beijing's Dabaotai Western Han Tombs museum reopens

The newly renovated Dabaotai Western Han Tombs museum in Beijing's Fengtai district officially reopened to the public on Tuesday, with two major exhibitions being unveiled, showing visitors rich history and culture of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) .

The museum is built over the tombs of Western Han Dynasty prince Liu Jian and his wife at Dabaotai in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing. Built entirely of wood, the tombs are over 2,000 years old and were discovered in 1974.

Reconstructing on the original site, the renovated museum covers an area of 7,600 square meters, with an exhibition area of 2,800 square meters.

The museum showcases the preserved site of the tombs within the exhibition hall. The most distinctive feature of the Dabaotai tombs is a wall of evenly cut yellow cypress wood piled 2.7 m high that separate the tomb's outer and inner hallways. This is called "Huang Chang Ti Cou," the highest-level funeral meant of the Western Han Dynasty. "Huangchang" refers to the core of cypress wood, and "Ticou" stands for the structure where the ends of the wood are put together towards the inner part in layers. This special funeral meaning is known for its strength and moisture resistance.

Meanwhile, a starry sky dome was set up on the top, providing visitors with a more immersive viewing experience.

"The dome displays the four divine creatures of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD): the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermillion Bird and the Black Turtle. The starry sky also represents the twenty-eight mansions popular during the Han Dynasty's astrology. We use modern technological methods, including digital technology, lighting to create an immersive atmosphere and help visitors better understand the 'Huang Chang Ti Cou'," said Yang Zhiguo, the curator.

Two major exhibitions, one temporary and one permeant, were also launched in the new museum on Tuesday, displaying the opulent lifestyle and spiritual pursuits of Western Han nobility and a view of social features in the ancient China's Youyan region during the Han Dynasty.

Beijing's Dabaotai Western Han Tombs museum reopens

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight