Forest of Stone Steles Museum
Forest of Stone Steles Museum
4
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:45 PM
About
This museum boasts the largest collection of steles cut in 837 A.D., the oldest existing texts of the Confucian classics, and more than 2,000 engraved stone tablets from the Han dynasty.
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4.0
425 reviews
Excellent
165
Very good
199
Average
51
Poor
9
Terrible
1
Stephen C
Singapore, Singapore1,141 contributions
July 2020 • Couples
This is a museum of stone monuments and carvings. It is housed in a former Confucius temple.
You will find stone monuments and epitaphs from past dynasties here. If you understand the language, the inscriptions on some of the stones are by legendary poets.
Personally, I thought the museum can be better run. Lighting in the exhibition halls should be brighter so that visitors can read the inscriptions. They should also do a better job maintaining the stones as many of them look old and dusty. While u can understand that they would like to maintain the original look and feel, it does give one the impression that it is not well run.
You will find stone monuments and epitaphs from past dynasties here. If you understand the language, the inscriptions on some of the stones are by legendary poets.
Personally, I thought the museum can be better run. Lighting in the exhibition halls should be brighter so that visitors can read the inscriptions. They should also do a better job maintaining the stones as many of them look old and dusty. While u can understand that they would like to maintain the original look and feel, it does give one the impression that it is not well run.
Written 5 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chammp
Modbury, UK1,331 contributions
Dec 2010
I visited this museum on an icy December day and generally enjoyed the experience. The tablets are fine, although I took a view that once you had seen 100 or so you didn't really need (or want) to see any more. These were in cold halls with the wind blustering through too. The section of Buddha statues though was inside, well heated and very interesting. For these alone I would say the museum is worth visiting.
Written 5 February 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
andrewsrharris712
Toronto, Canada36 contributions
July 2015 • Friends
It's the area around it as well as what's in it.
Built within an old temple complex next to the side of the enormous Xian City Wall, the Beile Museum (or Forest of Steles Museum) houses collections of stone art and inscriptions ranging from the Han Dynasty to the Qing. The sheer volume of inscription steles from dynasty after dynasty suggests that this museum is one of the most historically significant in all of China - it's overwhelming how much history you're walking within (if you can read the Chinese characters, which I regrettably can only in small doses).The stone carving, meanwhile, includes a vast collection of Buddhas and bodhisattvas from various locations and dynasties in China, and similar collections, albeit less intimate, can be found in Shanghai and Beijing.
The real highlight is the large sculpture gallery, and includes a Han-Tang Dynasty collection of lifelike carvings of rhinoceros, lions, turtles, and temple guardians. This is inside a converted temple featuring both modern art and literal animal steles resembling the rectangular soapstone stamps sold at the gift shop.
There is also an enormous stall market (tourist trinkets, usually) outside which is fun to wander through but the prices are as high as any museum gift shop. It's just a vibe, and a combined trip to the market and the Beile Museum is a great afternoon after a hectic Big/Small Wild Goose Pagoda morning.
Built within an old temple complex next to the side of the enormous Xian City Wall, the Beile Museum (or Forest of Steles Museum) houses collections of stone art and inscriptions ranging from the Han Dynasty to the Qing. The sheer volume of inscription steles from dynasty after dynasty suggests that this museum is one of the most historically significant in all of China - it's overwhelming how much history you're walking within (if you can read the Chinese characters, which I regrettably can only in small doses).The stone carving, meanwhile, includes a vast collection of Buddhas and bodhisattvas from various locations and dynasties in China, and similar collections, albeit less intimate, can be found in Shanghai and Beijing.
The real highlight is the large sculpture gallery, and includes a Han-Tang Dynasty collection of lifelike carvings of rhinoceros, lions, turtles, and temple guardians. This is inside a converted temple featuring both modern art and literal animal steles resembling the rectangular soapstone stamps sold at the gift shop.
There is also an enormous stall market (tourist trinkets, usually) outside which is fun to wander through but the prices are as high as any museum gift shop. It's just a vibe, and a combined trip to the market and the Beile Museum is a great afternoon after a hectic Big/Small Wild Goose Pagoda morning.
Written 16 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JazzUp
Phnom Penh, Cambodia127 contributions
Dec 2013 • Couples
Calligraphy and letters carved into all kinds of stone, simply amazing, some from hundreds of years ago!
Written 12 October 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James N
Beijing, China16 contributions
Aug 2014 • Friends
This temple is at the art walking street in Xian. The temple was quiet as few tourist went here to visit. This place is great for those truly interested in calligraphy, as that is what is here. I felt the 75rmb ticket was too much for this kind of site. Do not buy the artwork in the temple you will find better prices on the art street near the temple, as well as, some of the actual artists doing the paintings.
Written 20 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
foodie2828
Hong Kong, China159 contributions
Nov 2019 • Friends
A very interesting array of steles. The most I have ever seen in one place. There is a lot placed in a few structures, but worth a.visit.
Written 22 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
World Prof
Buffalo Grove, IL185 contributions
Oct 2019
Here you will find an amazing collection of steles that document China's history, philosophy, and religion, including its interaction with other cultures. Don't miss the Nestorian Stele documenting the arrival of Christianity in China (781 AD) and other religious influences. The calligraphy and artwork in stone is truly wonderful.
The location is very peaceful, no crowds! Unfortunately some of the buildings haven't been very well maintained and the displays need updating.
Have either a guide or good guidebook, to point out the most important items - otherwise they can tend to all look the same.
The location is very peaceful, no crowds! Unfortunately some of the buildings haven't been very well maintained and the displays need updating.
Have either a guide or good guidebook, to point out the most important items - otherwise they can tend to all look the same.
Written 17 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Muditha J
Colombo, Sri Lanka687 contributions
June 2018 • Friends
This is also better place for talk about Xian and it's old golden days , recommended to visit there for those who love history.
Written 25 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Myo M
Coquitlam, Canada26,945 contributions
Sept 2017 • Solo
To see here are about 7 small buildings (won't take long at all to look around in each of them, and you kind of go through them in a "sequence" from one building to another) with stone steles displayed inside, and in like the last one of those buildings are people "working on" the steles (don't know if they were doing some repairs & restorations of the steles or if they were doing some demonstrations for the visitors). Somehow though, I was more impressed by the steles seen at Confucius Temple in Beijing (which I had visited before this place), maybe just due to "the way" they are displayed (over there in one big room where the steles are arranged in "long rows about 4 or 5 deep" which in my opinion is more "appealing" to the eye than just seeing them in like "clusters" that you do here). There's also a museum-like building with some big animal sculptures (including a big hippo!) and where right outside are these "stone columns" (with an animal carving on top of each column); also there were plenty of big beautiful paintings right outside that museum building at the time I visited but I'm not sure if that was just a temporary exhibition or maybe if they were for sale.
In any case, I would say this is a "skippable" place especially because of the ticket price of 75 Yuan (Confucius Temple in Beijing as described above is only like 35 Yuan) unless you also want to go up the nearby City Wall for the combo ticket price of 100 Yuan, and the way up to the Wall is conveniently located just near the entrance gate of this place so you can go up right away after coming out of this place.
Coming by metro, Yongningmen Station (Line 2) is where to get off where you'll see the South Gate of the City Wall right away after coming out of the station, then just go through that gate and turn right on the other side where you'll walk through an area lined with small shops to get to this place (about a 15-minute walk in total after coming up from the station).
In any case, I would say this is a "skippable" place especially because of the ticket price of 75 Yuan (Confucius Temple in Beijing as described above is only like 35 Yuan) unless you also want to go up the nearby City Wall for the combo ticket price of 100 Yuan, and the way up to the Wall is conveniently located just near the entrance gate of this place so you can go up right away after coming out of this place.
Coming by metro, Yongningmen Station (Line 2) is where to get off where you'll see the South Gate of the City Wall right away after coming out of the station, then just go through that gate and turn right on the other side where you'll walk through an area lined with small shops to get to this place (about a 15-minute walk in total after coming up from the station).
Written 25 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NP1964
Southampton, UK63 contributions
Oct 2017
This museum was formerly a Confucian Temple, so there is much of worth to take in without even looking at any tablets (= steles). The tablets are mainly grey, but these have done us the great favour of surviving fire, flood and troubles down the centuries.
Although not well-signed, the Nestorian Tablet (AD 781) records what must be one of the earliest of contacts between China and the Western world. It is in the Second Display Room. It should receive some attention, a bit more like the way the Cyrus Cylinder is significant for ancient Persia (now Iran), as it reflects an openness to outsiders that was not common in the ancient world more generally.
If I had any children with me, I would head on fairly quickly from the Nestorian Tablet to the Fourth Display Room. We saw a demonstration there of how they make inked copies from the tablets - the Chinese equivalent to brass-rubbing I call it.
After admiring the quality of artwork for sale in the museum shops, I had the boldness to ask the price of an unmarked picture and subsequently came away with a little treasure that was great value for money.
If you fancy a cup of hot coffee or tea, you need to walk into the building called on the plan the 'Stone Sculptures Art Gallery'. Ignore any lack of signage in English and you can find the cafe downstairs. The coffee was some of the best I can remember enjoying in China. Needless to say, the cafe was pleasantly quiet.
Although not well-signed, the Nestorian Tablet (AD 781) records what must be one of the earliest of contacts between China and the Western world. It is in the Second Display Room. It should receive some attention, a bit more like the way the Cyrus Cylinder is significant for ancient Persia (now Iran), as it reflects an openness to outsiders that was not common in the ancient world more generally.
If I had any children with me, I would head on fairly quickly from the Nestorian Tablet to the Fourth Display Room. We saw a demonstration there of how they make inked copies from the tablets - the Chinese equivalent to brass-rubbing I call it.
After admiring the quality of artwork for sale in the museum shops, I had the boldness to ask the price of an unmarked picture and subsequently came away with a little treasure that was great value for money.
If you fancy a cup of hot coffee or tea, you need to walk into the building called on the plan the 'Stone Sculptures Art Gallery'. Ignore any lack of signage in English and you can find the cafe downstairs. The coffee was some of the best I can remember enjoying in China. Needless to say, the cafe was pleasantly quiet.
Written 19 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I travel independently from my hotel in Long Beach Road to this museum eg get a taxi or walk?
Written 20 December 2018
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