After visiting Hanpo Pass, I took the sightseeing bus and alighted at bus stop of same name, only 3 stops away. This museum is the former residence of Mao, hence there are exhibits of his bedroom, guestroom, bathroom and photo gallery of his life . Some rooms are dedicated to the history of Lushan, as there are many old photos and explanation of the development of Lushan. I only spend about 30 mins to briefly walk through the various rooms. Ok to visit to appreciate its history.

Lushan Museum was formerly Mao's residence at Lushan. It was converted to the current museum in 1986. The museum is located at the north bank of the scenic Lulin Lake and adjacent to an open gallery of Mao's poems and calligraphy. The bronze statues of Mao and Zhou En Lai stands at the top of the slope overlooking the beautiful pines filled mountainous scenery and the Lulin Lake. The museum is just at the base of this slope. I walked my way from my homestay near the Lushan Conference site. It took me about half an hour to reach this site. It was a lovely walk and I walked past by several elegant mansions and villas once inhabited by western missionaries, eminent doctors, celebrated writers like Mao Tun, Pearl S Buck, church pastors, politicians. The museum opened at 9 am. One weird looking brass iron shaped Chinese astronomical instrument stood near the entrance of this museum captivated the attention of many visitors. There was no guide there to explain what the significance of this instrument. As I enter into the main hall, the calligraphy of Chairman Mao loom along the hall way. As this was once Mao's residence, we found exhibits of the beds he slept, the sofa set he sat, the bath tub he used and an old modelled refrigerator that he once cold stored his food. My impression is that this `Great Helmsman' maintained a frugal lifestyle and the `luxuries' he had seem limited. After Mao's gallery, there are at least 5 other galleries in the museum: (a) Old Photos of Lushan (b) Lushan Unesco Global Geopark (c) Mt Lushan Evolution of Geological history (d) Five Hundred Ocean's painting (e) Celebrities and Mt Lushan I particularly like the Old Photos of Lushan. Before the westerners turned this mountain into a summer resort, the slope of the mountain looks barren. The influx of western missionaries followed by large scale construction of thousands of western style villas, mansions, churches from 1896 to 1936 drastically and meticulously turned the landscape of Lushan into a spectacular Geopark. Guling Town came to born out from no where. If it was not because of the Japanese invasion during the Second World War, many expatriates from the West would have continued to inhabit those mansions and villas. Lushan was and still is an unique Geopark of five great religions. You find several Buddhist temples as large as the Donglin Monastery, churches, Taoist temples, churches and mosques built on this mountain and the five streams of religious institutions co-existed with each other harmoniously. The renowned writer, Pearl S Buck, lived at Lushan since young and wrote great novels of her encounter at this mysteriously beautiful mountain. There was an architect model of the Lushan mountain showing the various attractions on this mountain. I noticed the locations of Donglin Monastery. I also saw the locations of the other attractions like the Flowers' Path, the Huanglong Temple, the Black Dragon Pond, the Guling Town. It reminds me of the Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan and the various temples and attractions around the Lake. You can get a clearer picture of this mountain when he examined closely the locations of the various attractions on this mountain. It should help you in your exploration. The museum is free and it is worthwhile to spend sometime here. You get a better understanding of the history, culture and literary works associated with this mountain. The fact that ancient poets of the past, modern political leaders like Chiang Kai Shiek, Mao, Zhou En lai and so many celebrities in the literary circles chose to stay here in Lushan shows the attractiveness of this UNESCO site. The museum gives me an instant summary of the historical significance of this beautiful noble mountain. So, do not miss this museum when you are in Lushan..