Xi'an Beilin Museum (Forest of Stone Steles)

Background

The Xi'an Forest of Stone Steles was founded in the second year of the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song (1087), originally to preserve the Kaicheng Stone Classics, the Stone Terrace Classic of Filial Piety and steles written by masters such as Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan that had been scattered in the wars of the late Tang. In 1103 it moved to the area of today's Sanxue Street, and in the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties it was repaired and expanded, forming a "temple and school in one" layout with the former Confucius Temple. In 1944 the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum was founded here; its collection was later divided in two, and the stone-carving part became today's Xi'an Beilin Museum. The Tang Kaicheng Stone Classics carve the twelve Confucian classics on 114 stones in more than 650,000 characters; the Nestorian Stele (Stele to the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion of Daqin) records the spread of the Church of the East in the Tang dynasty and is a key artifact for studying ancient exchange between China and the West. In 1961 the Xi'an Forest of Stone Steles was listed in the first batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

Local customs

• The route usually enters through the screen wall, the Pan Pool and the Lingxing Gate of the former Confucius Temple, continues into the stele pavilion and the stele rooms, and ends with the stone sculpture gallery. Since the new northern hall opened in May 2025, the number of exhibits has grown from over 800 to more than 2,000 pieces (sets), so allow separate time for the old halls and the northern area. In the stele rooms you will often see calligraphy enthusiasts copying the inscriptions and tracing the brushstrokes with their hands
• stopping quietly to look is the accepted way here.

Religion & beliefs

• The Forest of Steles stands on the site of a former Confucian temple, and the Lingxing Gate, Ji Gate and Pan Pool are still preserved in the temple layout
• the museum also holds relics of religious history such as Buddhist statues and the Nestorian Stele (Stele of the Propagation of the Luminous Religion of Daqin in China). This is a museum rather than a religious site, but please respect the former Confucian temple and the statues—do not climb on, sit on or lean against them.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow 2–3 hours
• if you are interested in calligraphy, the old museum area and the new northern hall together can fill half a day. The museum is on Sanxue Street, east of the South Gate (Yongning Gate) of Xi'an's Ming city wall. Take the metro to the Yongning Gate Station area and walk, or stroll over along the Shuyuanmen Ancient Culture Street. Tickets, reservation methods, opening hours and last-entry times are subject to the museum's official website and official WeChat account
• book ahead on busy holidays. Some concessions have eligibility restrictions, subject to official notices. After your visit, climb the South Gate city wall, wander Shuyuanmen and the Guanzhong Academy, then walk north to the Bell and Drum Towers for a half-day to full-day walking route through the old city.