Wei-Jin Art Gallery
The Wei-Jin Art Gallery, known as the Weijin-Tomb Murals, is one of the popular attractions in Jiayuguan City. It is about 18 km from the downtown of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province. Surrounded by vast Gobi, The Wei-Jin Art Gallery is made up with more than one thousand ancient tombs of Wei-Jin Period (220-420). There are 1400 brick tombs of Jin and Wei
Dynasties scattered here, which are the famous JinWei Tombs, and they were reputed as “world’s largest underground art gallery”. The ancient tombs extend east and west to Guoyuan Township of Jiuquan City and northwest to Xincheng Township. The tombs on the desert just like waves in the sea.
History
Jiayuguan Pass, constructed in 1372, is the western starting point of Ming Great Wall. Under the administration of Suzhou Garrison, it is also one of the nine important frontier towns in China in ancient times. In late Han Dynasty, there was called Yushizhang, while during the Five Dynasties, it was called Tianmen Pass. Jiayuguan was a place of strategic importance in every dynasty in ancient China. Until Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were lots of wars, especially in 310, the forth year of Jin Huai Emperor. Locust disaster, pestilence and wars all happened in this year. People were starving and ate grass, leaves and even furs of cattle. Many people died of starving. And the tombs in Jiayuguan were just built during this hard period (220-589).
What to see ?
The Wei-jin Tomb Murals on the bricks of the tombs are very vivid, including the patterns of farming, taking mulberry, animal husbandry, hunting, banquet, playing music, playing chess, etc. Through these murals, you can understand the politics, economy, military, transport means and many other aspects of the Wei-Jin Period very well.
T
he most precious unearthed relics are brick murals. Up to now, there are 132 mural bricks unearthed from No. 6 Tombs. 55 mural bricks were found in the front chamber while 65 bricks found in the medial chamber and 12 in the rear chamber. Mural bricks’ contents are very rich, including grazing, farming, mining of mulberry, sericulture, hunting, slaughtering, excursions, playing music, gaming, dancing, reproduction, eating, drinking, kitchen, brewing, clothing, dressing, textiles and so on, which are precious and visual materials for reaching the husbandry of Wei and Jin Dynasty.
Besides the above attractions of the city, you can find many other places well worth a visit. For instance, you can go to see the famous July 1st Glacier (Qi Yi Bingchuan) discovered on July 1st, 1958, visit Local Museum with the theme of showing Great Wall culture and history, or join the activities provided by Jiayuguan Glider Base in the airport.the Wei-Jin Art Gallery is the World’s largest underground art gallery. In 1982, a stamp of the mural 'Postman' was issued in memory of the time-honored history of China post.
Travel Tips
Add: 18km away from Jiayuguan City, area between Xincheng Township and Guoyan Township,Jiayuguan City.
Entrance Fee: 35 CNY
Opening Hours: 08:30-20:00
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