[2025 Linzhang Attraction] Travel Guide for Yecheng Archaeological Museum (Updated Jan)

Linzhang was known as "Ye" in ancient times, and is a "Three Kingdoms site and ancient capital of the Six Dynasties." The National Museum of China held a special exhibition "Harmony and Coexistence: Buddhist Statues of Yecheng, Linzhang" on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (2019). The "broad robe and large belt," "elegant and clear," and "wet drapery" styles of Chinese Buddhist statues are all on display here. As the capital of the Northern Qi, it also has the Northern Qi "Nagarjuna Niche" style Buddhist statues known as the "Yecheng Model." The short-lived Northern Qi dynasty, known as the "Beast Dynasty," produced such exquisite Buddhist statues.

Visit the Ye City Archaeological Museum in Linzhang County, Handan City. It is a second-level museum and the first national museum with a special theme of Buddhist statues. It opened in 2016. The museum is designed to resemble the city walls and gate towers of the Han Dynasty. Most of the exhibits are Buddhist statues unearthed from the Beiwuzhuang Buddhist statue burial pit in 2012. Buddhism in Ye City began to flourish during the Later Zhao period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and continued through the Northern Wei Dynasty. It reached its peak in the mid-6th century during the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties, becoming the Buddhist cultural center of the north after Datong and Luoyang. The cultural relics are beautiful and show signs of restoration. Among these countless scars, one can see one historical detail after another. In these star-like fragments, one can see the footsteps of mankind moving forward in suffering. We come into the world crying, but we can go to eternity with a smile.

Ye City Archaeological Museum is located in Linzhang County, Handan City, Hebei Province, and is China's first Buddhist statue museum. - Opening hours: - Tuesday to Friday: Winter 08:30-11:30, 13:30-17:30; Summer 08:30-11:30, 14:30-17:30. - Closed on Mondays (except for statutory holidays). - Weekends and statutory holidays: 08:30-17:30. - Ticket information: Free. - Visit time: 1-3 hours. - Transportation guide: - Self-driving: There are free parking spaces on the roadside to the right of the museum gate. - Bus: Take bus No. 4 from Handan Station to Qingfangcheng Station, transfer to bus No. 810 East Line to Linzhang Passenger Station, and then walk for five minutes to arrive. - Featured attractions: - Northern Qi Fu Bowl Tower: The treasure of the town hall, located in the first floor hall C statue: round carving, white stone texture, residual height 40.5 cm, curved eyebrows and thin eyes, calm and relaxed. - Northern Qi to Sui Bodhisattva head: Partial color painting and gilding, white stone, high bun, pearl crown, and treasure bottle in the crown. - Thinking Bodhisattva: vivid shape.

I finally saw a masterpiece at the Yecheng Archaeological Museum that rivals the statues of Longxing Temple. During the May Day holiday, I came to the Yecheng Archaeological Museum, located 40 kilometers from the center of Handan City, in Linzhang County. To my surprise, by 10 a.m., the place was already bustling with people, many enthusiasts had come from other places specifically to visit. The museum has four exhibition halls, which mainly display Buddhist statues unearthed from Beiwuzhuang, mainly from the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Northern Qi dynasties. Unlike the large round sculptures of Longxing Temple, most of the statues here are niche-style and back-screen style. Especially prominent are the 'Dragon Tree Back Screen' statues, which are typical of the regional characteristics. The Dragon Tree Back Screen refers to the Buddha statue's back screen being composed of two intertwined bodhi trees, with an arc-shaped facade, layered and hollowed-out tree crowns, decorated with dragons, pagodas, flying apsaras, and necklaces. The round and gentle Buddha statues sit in front of the back screen, as if sheltered under the huge bodhi tree, with a unique local character. Moreover, the back screens here are often carved on both sides, some are even gilded and painted, luxurious and noble. Some of the unearthed round sculptures of Buddha reflect the same characteristics as the statues of Longxing Temple from the same period, with both ornately decorated and the simple 'Caoyi Chushui' style. Compared to the 'slender and clear' Buddha statues of the Northern Wei period, the statues from the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi periods are more in line with secular aesthetics, with a more mature grasp of human anatomy, and therefore may resonate more with us today. If you are interested in unearthed Buddhist statues, Beiwuzhuang (Yecheng Archaeological Museum), Longxing Temple (Qingzhou Museum), Xiude Temple (Hebei Museum Quyang Exhibition Hall and the Forbidden City), Nannie Shui (Nannie Shui Stone Carving Museum), and Wanfo Temple (Sichuan Museum) are all treasures that you must make a special trip to see. Finally, a complaint: the museum's artifacts are all very impressive, but the exhibition layout and lighting are poor. Especially the Northern Qi covered bowl pagoda in the central hall on the first floor, surrounded by a circular glass, reflects strongly from any angle when photographed. ——Travel tips—— ▫️Opening hours: Be sure to note that the museum closes for a break at noon. The specific visiting hours are - Morning: 9:00-11:30; Afternoon: 1:30-5:30 (Spring/Autumn/Winter), 2:30-5:30 (Summer). Closed on Mondays (open as usual if it falls on a statutory holiday). ▫️Tickets: Free, no reservation required, just register at the entrance. ▫️Visiting time: About 2 hours. ▫️Museum grade: Second level. ▫️Reference video: 'Clouds Over Longmen, Hand in Hand with Xiangtangshan Yecheng' Episode 4, documentary 'The Lost Ancient Capital: Yecheng from the Perspective of the Yecheng Museum'

📝Hebei part91📝 📷📷📷📷 I saw the Buddha statues in the Yecheng Archaeological Museum from the Northern Wei to the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, and took the opportunity to study history thoroughly. 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️ The Northern Wei dynasty was established by the Tuoba (Yuan) clan of the Xianbei people, lasting 148 years with 12 emperors. The Eastern Wei was a transitional period from the Yuan clan to the Gao clan, with only one puppet emperor Yuan Shanjian set up by the regent Gao Huan, lasting a total of 17 years. The Northern Qi, however, was a chaotic struggle of the Gao clan, changing 6 emperors in just 28 years. 🖼️🖼️🖼️🖼️ During the visit, I was truly moved by the fact that even in such disarray, the Northern Qi still had so many exquisite artistic treasures.

So close, so beautiful, a weekend trip to Hebei, this slogan has driven Hebei's cultural and tourism industry. Hebei, a province that surrounds Beijing, often jokes that their home is in the '17th ring' of Beijing. Many resources are concentrated in Beijing, and Hebei's mission is to be the guardian of the capital; perhaps we all know the famous summer resort, Beidaihe, Shanhaiguan, Laobaigan liquor, and Yanjiao, but might not know that these are from Chengde, Qinhuangdao, Hengshui, and Langfang in Hebei; for example, we know that Handan was the ancient capital of the State of Zhao and the hometown of idioms, but not many know that the counties of Linzhang and Ci in Handan were the capitals of six dynasties in ancient times. Just decide to go, and at noon on the weekend, set off from Zhengzhou to the ancient city of Yecheng (today's Linzhang County in Handan), the site of the capitals of the Cao Wei, Later Zhao, Former Yan, Eastern Wei, Ran Wei, and Northern Qi dynasties, to learn about this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. Although it was the capital during the most chaotic and frequently changing period of Chinese dynasties, few relics have survived; the current representative of the remaining relics is the Southern and Northern Dynasties' Xiangtangshan Grottoes, which were carved during the Northern Qi dynasty over 1000 years ago. They were carved later than the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang but were completed earlier. The existing statues, after damage from different periods, look dreadful. During the Republic of China, the antique dealer (thief) Lu Qinzai contributed greatly by cutting and selling (stealing) them; this trip was aimed at the grottoes, but the unexpected gain was the unassuming Yecheng Archaeological Museum and the Southern and Northern Dynasties Archaeological Museum. Yecheng is located in the southern part of Handan, adjacent to the Zhang River in the south. It is now called Linzhang County, probably because of the Linzhang River. Linzhang has two museums, one is the 'Yecheng Archaeological Museum' located within the city of Linzhang, and the other is the 'Yecheng Museum' located to the west of Linzhang, close to the G4 expressway, and some distance from the county town. Due to time constraints, I did not visit it. It is rare for a county to have two museums, and because it is in an unassuming county, there were not many expectations, but since I was there, I decided to take a look. However, after entering, I was slapped in the face, so to speak. The 'Yecheng Archaeological Museum' is better described as a museum of Buddhist statue art. The more than 100 statues here have all participated in the 70th National Day Grand Exhibition, including the exquisite works of the Northern Wei Tan's Deputy Buddha, the Northern Qi Overturned Bowl Pagoda, the painted standing Buddha, and the Buddha statues from the Sui and Tang periods. The 'Buddha statues' with 'ample robes and wide belts,' 'elegant bones and clear images,' 'wet robes emerging from water,' and the regional characteristic 'Dragon Tree Back Screen' statues are of extremely high artistic value and are very precious. This part is copied from the internet. Seeing these treasures, I felt that my knowledge reserve was too small, and what struck me was the sensory impact and the shock at the bottom of my heart. My body was trembling, and my eyes were tearing up. How could there be so many details and considerations? I don't know what words to use to describe the beauty of the statue details; After seeing it, I started to make up for this history, and next time I will come back to travel through time to that dynasty and use the historical figures and events of that dynasty to recognize the peak era of Buddhist statue art. Regardless of whether you have faith or understand art, this place is also worth visiting to purify the soul.