Golden Sun Bird

The Golden Sun Bird, or the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament (simplified Chinese: 太阳神鸟金饰; traditional Chinese: 太陽神鳥金飾; pinyin: Tàiyáng Shénniǎo Jīnshì), is an ancient artifact, unearthed in 2001 at Jinsha archaeological site located in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.^[1]

Golden Sun Bird
Material	Gold
Size	12.5 cm in diameter
Weight	20 grams
Created	c. 1125 BC
Discovered	2001 Sanxingdui
Present location	Jinsha Museum, Chengdu

It is a ring-shaped piece of foil, made of nearly pure gold. The pattern consists of four birds, flying in the same counterclockwise direction, located around the perimeter. The center is a sun pattern with twelve points. It is 12.5 cm in diameter, with a 5.29 cm inner diameter. It has a thickness of 0.02 cm, and weighs 20 grams.^[2]

The piece dates back to the late Sanxingdui period (around 1200–1050 BCE), and is now located in the Jinsha Museum, Chengdu.

Use as logo

The Golden Sun Bird motif is used as a logo to represent China's cultural heritage. In 2011, the city of Chengdu selected the Golden Sun Bird as the design for its logo.^[3] The pattern is featured on the coat of arms of Joseph Tang Yuange, Roman Catholic Bishop of Chengdu since 2016, as well as on the coat of arms of the Diocese of Chengdu. The sun bird was also used as the elements of the 2021 FISU World University Games in Chengdu.

• 
  Golden Sun Bird in the museum exposition
• 
  Coat of arms of Bishop Joseph Tang Yuange
• 
  Coat of arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chengdu
• 
  Dong'an Lake Stadium, the main venue of the 2021 Summer World University Games, with a giant sun bird design on the roof

See also

• List of Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad