Xi'an Beilin Museum (Forest of Steles) & Shuyuanmen
西安碑林博物馆
A “treasure house of calligraphy” with more than 3,000 stone steles from different dynasties, next to Shuyuanmen, an old street lined with shops selling the four treasures of the study.
The Xi’an Beilin Museum (Forest of Steles) lies on the east side inside the South Gate (Yongning Gate) of the city wall. It occupies the former site of the Xi’an Confucius Temple and was founded in 1087 in the Northern Song dynasty. Its collection of about 4,000 stone steles and epitaphs, dating from the Han to the Qing, makes it the place in China with the earliest and most famous stone steles. Highlights include the Tang Kaicheng Stone Classics, Yan Zhenqing’s “Stele of the Duobao Pagoda” and “Stele of the Yan Family Temple,” Liu Gongquan’s “Stele of the Xuanmi Pagoda,” Ouyang Xun’s “Stele of Huangfu Dan,” and the “Nestorian Stele” that records the spread of Christianity in China. The Stone Carving Art Museum displays the “Six Steeds of Zhaoling,” four of which are original stones.
Admission is about 65 yuan. A visit takes about 2 hours, and a guide is recommended. Shuyuanmen, the pedestrian street in front of the museum, is a street of antiques, calligraphy and painting, and the four treasures of the study. The site of the Guanzhong Academy is also here.
Getting there: take Metro Line 2 to Yongning Gate station and walk about 10 minutes.
Opening hours
March–November 08:00–18:00; December–February 08:00–17:30
Nearby sights
- Xi'an City Wall
- Bell Tower and Drum Tower
- Xi'an Yisushe Qinqiang Theatre
- Muslim Quarter (Beiyuanmen)
- Gao Family Courtyard
- Great Mosque of Xi'an
- Zhang Xueliang Mansion (Xi'an Incident Memorial)
- Xi'an City God Temple