Guishan Han Tomb

Cultural Relics in Guishan Han Tomb, Xuzhou

Guishan Han Tomb, as an embodiment of the culture of Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), is situated in the west side of Guishan Mountain which is to the northwest of Xuzhou City. It is the tomb for the sixth King Chu Liu Zhu (who reigned between 128 BC-116 BC) and his wife in Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). With an area of over 700 square meters (more than 837 square yards), this tomb boasts the grand scale, extraordinary design and delicate work. It is composed of two parallel but communicating parts: the south part is the tomb of Liu Zhu and the north part of his wife. Each part has a path for people to enter the main body of the tomb. The main body of the tomb consists of fifteen halls including bedrooms, parlors, kitchens and even the washing room and stables. The whole tomb even has a complete drainage system. It is just like a majestical underground palace indeed.

The two paths respectively leading to the two tombs are paralleled, and the distance between them is about 19 meters (about 21 yards). Each of them is about 56 meters long (about 61 yards), 1.78 meters high (about 1.95 yards) and 1.06 meters wide (about 1.16 yards). They are not built up by laying stones but excavated artificially. What's amazing is that just relying on the simple craft and tools, the workmen should limit the paths' deviation within 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inch) from midline and the angle between the two paths is even less than 20 seconds. Moreover, without any advanced machine, the wall and floor in the whole path are chiseled so smooth that could be on a par with modern upholstering.

Walking along the paths, people could enter the main body of the tomb. With about 2600 cubic meters (more than 3401 cubic yards), the main body nearly takes up the whole bosom of the mountain. In the main body, there are fifteen halls. Connecting to each other, those halls are arranged in a clear order according to their functions. With the elaborate design, the roofs of the halls are in various styles like vault, flat or four-angled spire. And by the exquisite work, all the corners in the halls are almost carved into a right-angle. In some larger halls, there are huge stone pillars left when the halls were excavated.

In the hall where the casket of Liu Zhu lies, there is an interesting scene. The north wall of this hall reveals a silhouette of a life-sized person in Han clothing. He is in a position of greeting the guests. It is called the 'Greeting Chu Wang' (which means Liu Zhu). What's amazing is that this scene does not appear at first but gradually shaped after the tomb is opened to the public eye. It looks as if the Prince Liu Zhu is extending his greeting to the tourists.

The unearthed relics from this tomb like various bronze ware, vivid gold-plated tigers and delicate jade articles are now exhibited in the Xuzhou Museum.

 

Admission Fee:	CNY 80
Opening Hours:	08:00 to 19:00
Bus Route:	take bus no. 37 and get off at Guishanhanmu Station.