Museums, Xi'an

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The modern museum of Xi’an covers from the prehistory to period of the terracotta warriors.

The skull of the man of Beijing is the starting point for a reasonable collection, with some beautiful bronzes.

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You must visit this museum. Here we can see the terracotta warriors up close. There was a long queue for free tickets (if you show your passport) when we were there. Luckily, I was able to "persuade" a guard to let me have two tickets minus the queuing.

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This museum in nearby Xianyang City was the first stop on my Western Tour which also included the Tomb of Huo Qubing, Qianling Tomb and Famen Temple. The museum is housed in a former Confucian Temple and was opened in 1962. It features nine exhibition halls and a stele corridor. Among the rich cultural relics, the 3,000 painted miniature Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC - 24AD) are the most famous. Other exhibits include historical relics from the Qin dynasty such as various fine potteries, jade articles and the famous Qin bricks. There is also the biggest sitting bronze Buddha of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China.

Admission: RMB20.

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This new museum, which opened in May 2007, is located near the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, to the south of the city centre. As many as 130,000 fine cultural relics are kept in the museum, most of which were unearthed in the important tombs and the capital sites of the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-221 BC), the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC), the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), and the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The underground exhibition hall features many relics that have been unearthed, showing the history of Xian, the one-time capital of 13 dynasties, its economy, social life, as well as cultural exchange and trade with foreign countries. On display are bronzes, pottery figurines, Buddhist statues, stone sculpture, architectural pieces, gold ware, jade, calligraphy and a huge scale model of Chang'an (old Xian).

Admission: RMB25.

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As well as the stele, the museum also exhibits some important stone carvings including mausoleum stone sculpture and religious stone sculpture from the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). On display are the six legendary steeds from the Zhoaling tomb, Li Shu's stone outer coffin, twin beasts of the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220), and the head statue of Bodhisattva.

Open: 8am-6.45pm. Admission: RMB45.

This particular stele is of great importance to western visitors to the museum as it details the earliest existence of Christianity in China when it was erected in 781. The stele documents the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China and reveals that the church had initially received recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong in 635 when the Nestorian arrived. The stele is said to have been buried in 845 after Christianity was forbidden but was later found in 1625.

Open: 8am-6.45pm. Admission: RMB45.

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This museum occupies the 11th century Confucian Temple and houses nearly 3,000 steles in seven exhibition halls. The Stele Forest began with the Kaicheng Shi Jing Steles and ***ai Xiao Jing Steles, two groups of steles both carved in the Tang dynasty. In 904, a rebel army sacked Xian (then known as Chang'an), and the two stele were evacuated to the inner city. In 962, they were again moved to the rebuilt temple to Confucius. The museum is recognised as holding the largest collection of the earliest stone steles of different periods, from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

Open: 8am-6.45pm. Admission: RMB45.

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We stopped here en route to the Terracotta Warriors site.

The Lintong Museum is housed in an old temple. The architecture is simply stunning; even if you're not usually a museum person, a walk around the buildings and gardens here is really nice in itself. The museum is however very interesting and houses finds of the area.