Forest of Stele Museum

Location: It is located in San Xue Street, near the south gate of the City Wall.
Ticket Price: About 45 yuan per person.
Construction Era: It was established in 1090 during the Northern Song Dynasty.

An Age-old Museum


Covering an area of 31,000 square meters, the Forest of Stele Museum is well-known for its fine and large collection of more than 1, 000 inscribed stones engraved during the period of the Han to the Qing Dynasties for over 2, 000 years. It is an idea place to learn about Chinese history and culture.
Structure of the Museum

The museum is divided into seven major exhibition halls, which mainly displayed ancient calligraphy, historical records and stone carvings. Hall One- Exhibition of the twelve Confucian classics carved on 14 steles

The twelve works includes the Analects of Confucius, Books of Changes, Books of Songs and some others. These twelve classics are must-be readings for intellectuals during Chinese feudal society. The stones were engraved when the printing was not yet invented. In order to preserve these works a well, the rulers ordered to carve them down on these stones.

Hall Two- Exhibition of steles of calligraphy


The steles of calligraphy in this hall were written by the prominent calligraphers of ancient Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty witnessed a flowering of creativity in many fields. Chinese classic calligraphy reached its golden age during this time. Visitors will find works of Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Zhangxu and many other noted ancient calligraphers in this hall.

Hall Three- Exhibition of five varieties of calligraphy works
These steles were inscribed with five varieties of calligraphy, seal characters, official script, regular script, running hand and cursive hand. From these steles, visitors can have a clear idea of the development of Chinese writing. Chinese calligraphy forms an important part in China's magnificent culture, so these stone tablets are of great importance to explore China's long and magical ancient culture.

Hall Four-Exhibition of various stone sculptures

200 works from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty were displayed, including portraits of Confucius, scripture of Buddhists from the Tang Dynasty and much more.
Hall Four, Five, Six and Seven also well worth a visit. Hall Five shows steles engraved with historical records of the Song to Qing Dynasties, China's last imperial power. Many famous and of significant importance poems were displayed in Hall Six and Seven.