Museums, Xi'an

This is an excellent museum, with exhibits including artefacts ranging from the prehistoric era via Qin, Han and Tang etc. to the Ming dynasty.

I found the metal joints that were designed to hold building timbers in place particularly interesting. I was also fascinated by the animal themed pots and grave goods. The latter included a model of a workshop and a pig sty.

Allow plenty of time for a visit - we ended up rushing it, as we were delayed in traffic jams visiting the Terracotta Army.

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There is a 570m long street that was revamped in 1990 and 1991 to recapture the ancient Ming and Qing-style store fronts (much of the funds came from the residents themselves).

The result is a short walk down a market street with much of the storefronts, roofs, signs, and everything giving you a feel of the ancient days.

Halfway down the street is the ancient Guanzhong Academy.

At the end of the street is the Forest of Stones Museum. It has an impressive collection of stone manuscripts, tombstones and documents dating back over nearly 2000 years. The ancient "library" was founded in 1087, but now has some collections from the Han dynasties of 2nd century B.C.

To follow up my note on the Pagodas, there is a large display of the ancient horse stakes here. Amazing craftsmanship and awe of the past...

The Forest of Stelae Museum collects above 1000 stone tablets, along with other artifacts. The history of the museum is nearly 1000 years. Some exhibits are classified as national treasures.
One one hand, the museum is a library about the Chinese civilization and history, which is called "documented on the stone". One the other hand, it's the museum of calligraphy and sculpture made of stones.

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The building itself is modelled on Tang Dynasty style pavilions and covers two floors and contains exhibits of artefacts from tombs related to pre-history, Tang and Qing Dynasty. Most of the artefacts are cultural, archaeological, some pottery, mirrors and some weapons. Unfortunately, we found the displays a little disappointing as few of the exhibits were put into their historical context with only a vague reference to burial mounds.

You cannot take baggage into the museum (there is a storage facility), photography OK but no flash allowed.

I have included a scanned copy of the card with the Chinese characters for the museum given to us by the hotel.

Cost of entry 35 Yuan each.

Open every day. Summer 8.00am to 17.30pm. Winter 9.00am -16.30pm.

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The Shanxi History Museum is one of the most important and best presented museums in China. For those who are well traveled in China, this might not be saying that much. China is not a great country for quality museums. Warehouses full of pots and only competently displayed. The Shanxi History Museum is well lit and superbly displayed. It also has a rich collection of artifacts. Shanxi is in many ways the cradle of Chinese civilization so rightly a museum depicting the province importance should be well worth visiting.
The exhibits are displayed chronologically stretching backing to pre-history into the Shang Dynasty. There are many exhibits of bronze weaponry which date from Zhou and Qin Dynasties.of Qin Shi Huang. There are also some of the Terracotta Warriors here and a fine chariot and horses also found from the nearby tomb As China progressed into the Tang Dynasty, artisitic concerns became more important and here we see many beautifull carvings and frescos dating from this area.
The museum has some annoying features. One is the very aggressive sales people attempting to get you to go into their souvenior shops to see real "Chinese art". Another is all the English students hanging out in the lobby attempt to speak English to you and to fill out their forms. This tends to get tiresome after a while.
The admission into the Shanxi History Museum is Y35.

Take a nice 2 hour tour in this museum on a lazy afternoon. You might find it very enriching to know what the Chinese did in the old days, especially during war. Check out the tea pot or kettle without any lid, and some of the fine bronze work and carvings. You will be amazed.

Interesting displays on the vast amount of local history, ensure you have a good guide, there is lots to learn and is a good stop off before visiting the terracotta army - learn before you go! Most exhibits have labels in English.

Interesting displays on the vast amount of local history, ensure you have a good guide, there is lots to learn and is a good stop off before visiting the terracotta army - learn before you go! Most exhibits have labels in English.