Forest of Stone Steles Museum, Shaanxi, China

4chammp 5:00 PM Feb 4, 2011

The stone tablets are OK but the Buddha statues are better
I visited this museum on an icy December day and generally enjoyed the experience. The tablets are fine, although I took a view that once you had seen 100 or so you didn't really need (or want) to see any more. These were in cold halls with the wind blustering through too. The section of Buddha statues though was inside, well heated and very interesting. For these alone I would say the museum is worth visiting.

4andrewsrharris712 5:00 PM Nov 15, 2015

Most Underrated Attraction in Xian
It's the area around it as well as what's in it. Built within an old temple complex next to the side of the enormous Xian City Wall, the Beile Museum (or Forest of Steles Museum) houses collections of stone art and inscriptions ranging from the Han Dynasty to the Qing. The sheer volume of inscription steles from dynasty after dynasty suggests that this museum is one of the most historically significant in all of China - it's overwhelming how much history you're walking within (if you can read the Chinese characters, which I regrettably can only in small doses).The stone carving, meanwhile, includes a vast collection of Buddhas and bodhisattvas from various locations and dynasties in China, and similar collections, albeit less intimate, can be found in Shanghai and Beijing. The real highlight is the large sculpture gallery, and includes a Han-Tang Dynasty collection of lifelike carvings of rhinoceros, lions, turtles, and temple guardians. This is inside a converted temple featuring both modern art and literal animal steles resembling the rectangular soapstone stamps sold at the gift shop. There is also an enormous stall market (tourist trinkets, usually) outside which is fun to wander through but the prices are as high as any museum gift shop. It's just a vibe, and a combined trip to the market and the Beile Museum is a great afternoon after a hectic Big/Small Wild Goose Pagoda morning.