A man with a gold mask. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Sanxingdui Museum, which was opened in late 1997, by the tranquil Yazi River draws visitors from different parts of the world.

Yazi means duck in Chinese and white ducks can be seen in the river.

Visitors to the museum are greeted by dozens of large bronze masks and bronze human heads with angular human features, exaggerated almond-shaped eyes, protruding pupils and large ears.

The masks and heads with their bizarre looks look like the work of aliens because no human race looks like them, says Tang Min, a guide.

But according to the Chronicles of Huayang, a book about history, geography and people in Southwest China compiled by Chang Qu, a historian in Sichuan, from 348 to 354, bronze masks with protruding pupils in the Sanxingdui Museum have something to do with Can Cong, the founder and king of the Shu Kingdom.

The book described him as having protruding eyes, says Tan Jihe, a historian and president of the Sichuan Provincial Association of History.