Xi'an Beilin Museum, China

In Shanxi Province, in addition to ancient temples, travelers can visit the Bei Ling Museum. It is a unique landmark. The museum was founded on the site of the old destroyed Confucian temple in the early 20th century. The basis of its unique exhibition are stone stele with China's history engraved on them. These priceless artifacts has given to the museum its informal name, The Forest of Stone Steles.

These stone structures are only fragments of the ancient temple that were able to survive to the present day. Now, texts carved on them attract great interest of scientists. Lots of special manipulations are done; to make it easier to read the text, they made a special written copy. The thin rice paper is pasted on the surface of the stele; it is swiped with a special pad soaked in the ink. As a result, the paper surface is painted, and the characters are white. All visitors will be able to observe this amazing process.

In addition to the survived ancient steles and stone sculptures, Xi'an Beilin Museum has a rich collection of archaeological artifacts, including ancient sarcophagi. The most significant part of the exhibition, the ancient stele, is located in the courtyard of the complex. Surviving stone drums, which are traditional attributes of Confucian temples, can be seen there too. A patio features incredible design. Its cloisters represent an amazing collection of paintings. To the beginning - Confucius Temple Taichung