Gallery of Han Stone Sculptures

Situated in the beautiful Yunlong Mountain Scenic Area, the Gallery of Han Stone Sculptures in Xuzhou City which covers an area of 25,000 square meters (about 6.2 acres) contains a total of over 800 different thematic stone sculptures of the Han Dynasty. On the west side the gallery adjoins the Yulong Lake and on the east side it leans on the green Yunlong Mountain. Thus the environment around the Gallery is considerably pleasing.

The stone sculptures of the Han Dynasty belong to a kind of plastic arts, which combine painting, carving and architecture together. Usually they are carved on grave chambers, coffins and ancestral temples. The stone sculpture in Xuzhou is one of the three kinds of 'Top Craftsmanship in Han Dynasty'. The stone sculptures of the Han Dynasty in Xuzhou, the Stone Carvings of Six Dynasties (386-589) (referring to Northern and Southern Dynasties) in Nanjing and the Classical Garden in Suzhou are together ranked as 'Three Treasures of Jiangsu Province'.

There are in total seven exhibition rooms in the Gallery of Han Stone Sculptures. Every exhibition room shows the stone sculptures on extensive subjects and these stone sculptures bear different designs among which some reflects fairy tales, some reflects common life and some symbolize auspicious meanings. Along the corridor for exhibition, which is 206 meters (about 676 feet) long, we can find a total of 69 stone sculptures of the Han Dynasty. Among these the most famous and precious ones are the Weaving Picture, the Banquet with Dance and Music Picture and others.

First let's come to have a look of the Weaving Picture in the third exhibition room. The Weaving Picture describes family weaving scene-a woman sitting beside the textile machine is turning about to hold the baby in her arm. Besides, we can also make out the whole process of weaving, winding and wigwagging the abb. When you come to see this, you can feel the atmosphere of rural life in Han Dynasty when the weaving industries were prosperous. The Weaving Picture is very rare and precious and there are only 7 Stone Sculptures of the Weaving Picture discovered in China up till now.

Excepting the most famous ones, a stone sculpture in the second exhibition room draws our attention. It is called the Triumph of Seizing Robber Picture, being 8 meters long, which represents how to make inquest to the prisoner in Han Dynasty, which is said to make contribution to the study of criminal law and instruments of torture in Han Dynasty. Besides, another stone sculpture called Kabob Picture in the fourth exhibition room will draw our attention. It depicts a trencherman holding a string of muscle for baking in one hand and a fan for stirring a fire in the other hand. The picture is very vivid and lifelike.

Additionally, stone sculptures such as the Cattle Ploughing Picture, All birds towards Phoenix Picture and others are all strict in picture composition and exquisite in carving crafts. The carving lines are fine and vivid, embodying traditional Chinese beauty. It is no exaggeration to say that the Gallery of Han Stone Sculptures in Xuzhou City matches the fame of 'National First-rate Professional Museum'.