Weijin Art Gallery

Hours & Admission Price Peak Season
May.-Oct.
08:30-20:00
35 Low Season
Nov.-Apr.
08:30-20:00
35 Address & Phone about 20 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan Transportation In Jiayuguan City, you can take a taxi to visit the attractions of the city. Notes Including stamped postcard

Located in a barren section on the outer boundary, about 20 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan, Weijin Art Gallery is renowned as the largest subterranean art gallery in the world.

Weijin Art Gallery is located in about 20 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan, Gansu Province. Built in Weijin Dynasty (220-419), Weijin Art Gallery is actually a big mural brick tomb with 1,400 tombs. It is known as the largest subterranean art gallery in the world boasting a large number of colorful murals on the stone walls. From 1972-1979, 13 tombs were excavated and eight of them with colorful murals. The murals distributed in the walls of the room. Most of them are as big as a brick with a height of about 16cm and a width of 34cm. About 700 murals were excavated from the tomb and most of them are best preserved, even a few with bright color. Now only Grave 6 and Grave 7 are open to tourists.

The murals in Weijin Art Gallery are mainly describing the daily life in old times, such as the scene of travel, banquet, farming, breeding and hunting. It served as an epitome of the owner’s real life and shows the evolutionary process of the painting style and the tendency from adornment picture to independent scroll picture. Normally the mural is sketched with red, hook out profile with chalk line and filled in with red color, hence the picture is bright and lively. All the figures in the mural are dynamic, which gives people intense artistic feeling.

Grave 6

The most valuable thing excavated from Grave 6 is murals. About 132 murals excavated from Grave 6, which accounts for 20% of the total 660 unearthed from 13 tombs. Grave 6 is regarded as an epitome of the tombs in Weijin Dynasties. 55 murals were found in front of the grave, which reveal the economic life in that time. 65 murals were found in the middle of the grave, which express people’s household life. 12 murals were found in back of the grave, which depict master’s wealth.

Postman

The most famous mural in Weijin Art Gallery is the postman. It is a national postal mark. It depicts a postman with a letter in one hand and the halter in the other hand sits on the back of a galloping horse, which reflects the real post situation in ancient China vividly. It is regarded as the earliest postman image date in ancient times.

Other Relics

Many funeral objects are excavated from Grave 6. Judging from the appearance, we can see that the production process is very fine, such as the small glazed pottery with double ears. It is as small as a round belly and with two ears in the shoulder of the pot. The pot is colored with crimson colored glaze, which looks bright and delicate. Although not so much in number, the lacquer unearthed from the grave reveals the excellent lacquer technique in Weijin Dynasty.

Weijin Art Gallery reflects the painting style from concept to specific, from coarse to fine and from decorative paintings to independent paintings gradually in the area of Hexi of Wei and Jin dynasties. It fills the blank of that period in the Chinese painting history and provides precious physical material to the study of the grotto art.

>> follow us to see the largest underground art gallery in the world:
3 Days Dunhuang & Jiayuguan Tour

 

Jiayuguan Culture