Forest of Stone Steles Museum, Xian (must see)

The Forest of Stone Steles Museum has the largest collection of stone steles from the many dynasties that ruled Xian. It is an interesting stop in the city for handwriting enthusiasts and those who are interested in Chinese culture and history.

The Forest of Stone Steles Museum is housed in a tranquil 11th century Confucian temple. The first collections of steles placed here were the Kaicheng Shi Jing series and the Shitai Xiao Jing steles. Both were carved during the reign of the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of the Song Dynasty, the stele collections were placed in a specially built hall. The well known Chinese calligrapher, Yu Youren donated a large collection of over 300 stele rubbings to the museum in 1936.

Today, the Forest of Stone Steles Museum has over 3000 stone steles. It is the largest collection in China. The museum has seven exhibition halls displaying calligraphy, paintings and historical objects in addition to the stone steles. It also houses the stone sculpture gallery built in 1963. It consists of tomb and religious stone sculpture from the reign of the Tang Dynasty. Two well known exhibits are the Nestorian Stele and an 18th century stele describing a Yangtze River Flood Control Project.