Luoyang Ancient Art Museum

Luoyang Ancient Art Museum, used to be known as Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum, is a reputed museum devoted to the display of ancient tombs. It is located at Mang Hill, 10 km (6 miles) north of Luoyang City. Covering an area of nearly 3 hectares (7.4 acres), the museum is housed in a complex of grand buildings in the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) architectural style.

The exhibits are displayed on two floors above ground and there is also an underground section.
 

In the first half of the above ground section, you will see the tablet inscribed with the name of the Luoyang Ancient Art Museum in Chinese characters, the Menque (a kind of ornamental watchtower set in front of palaces, mausoleums, temples and residences) carved from white marble, the Xumu (prelude) Hall with a pair of Tianlu (a mythical creature said to ward off evil spirits). The hall houses the sand map showing the distribution of the Han Dynasty tombs. The two halls on either side of Xumu Hall include a library room, reception room, exhibition room, souvenir room and a room for taking photos, each being connected by cloisters. The side halls present models of the tombs, burial objects and simulations of funeral scenes from the primitive society to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC), which illustrate clearly the development of ancient tombs and the local customs of ancient Luoyang. Behind Xumu Hall lies the Xuan Hall, which is the entrance to the underground section. The latter half of the above ground section contains the Sijiao (quadrangle) Pavilion and the Wangjing (sightseeing) Pavilion. The function of the Sijiao Pavilion, an extension to the underground halls, is to provide ventilation and sunlight to the lower floor. In Wangjing Pavilion, you can either take a rest or look out over Luoyang City.
 

The architectures in the underground section of Luoyang Ancient Art Museum are arranged in the Chinese character '回', totally moving and rehabilitating 25 typical tombs from the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD) to Song (960 - 1279) and Jin (1115 - 1234) Dynasties. They are respectively Han Dynasty Hall, Wei (386 - 557) & Jin (265 - 420) Dynasties Hall, Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) Hall and Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) Hall, exhibiting more than 600 cultural relics. They are mainly funerary objects, daily utensils and ornaments, the excavated color-painted pottery figures and the pink guardian animals being the most impressive. Another highlight in this section are the eye-catching murals depicting the ascent to heaven and the attainment of immortality, the exorcising of demons, fairy tales, historical stories, diagrams of astronomical phenomena and scenes of family life and social life of the tombs' occupants. In addition, the excavated epitaphs are really fine examples of calligraphy and stone inscriptions from these dynasties.

Luoyang Ancient Art Museum is not only a distinctive museum with pseudo-archaic architectures, ancient tombs and murals, but is also has a modern garden with exuberant grass and flowers, tall trees, artificial hills, piled stones, pools and fountains. You are sure to find it charming and attractive.

Please refer to Chinese history to have a clearer concept about those dynasties.
 

Take bus 27/K27, 83/K83, and get off at Luoyang Gudai Yishu Bowuguan.