Museum of the Western Hàn Tombs at Dàbǎotái 大葆台西汉墓博物馆
丰台区黄土岗乡郭公庄南, 世界公园旁边
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
A museum stands over the site of the Western Hàn dynasty (206BCE–2CE) tomb of king Liú Jiàn (刘建, 73–45BCE), discovered in 1974. Inside is an exhibition of artefacts from the main tomb, although it had been robbed long before its rediscovery, and from a second tomb for Liú Jiàn’s wife, which was destroyed in a fire. The exhibits include the bones of animals buried with the king for food, bronzes, some exquisite jade and agate ornaments, and terracotta figurines.
A ramp leads down to a gallery around the pit, past the remains of three utilitarian single-shaft chariots with red and black lacquered wheels which are still partly buried in the tomb passage. The first of their kind to be discovered in China, they were buried as sacrifice along with 11 horses, parts of whose fossilised skeletons can be seen.
Each layer of the tomb’s construction has been partly removed so that the view from the gallery is as if of at a cut-away drawing of a series of coffins within coffins and chambers within chambers. The substantial walls were made by stacking some 14,000 square-cut logs of yellow cypress wood and using mortice and tenon joints, suggesting a fairly advanced level of tool-making. Some still bear the original carpenters’ marks. You may walk down into the tomb itself, 4.7m in depth, on payment of an extra fee (¥60), a rather dubious conservation practice.
There are good explanations in English of the tomb’s original construction methods, and of those used in excavation and subsequently in preservation, along with photographs of the excavation process.
The tomb robbers seem to have been incompetent, as they left behind treasures such as a jade burial suit and an exquisite pair of pigeons modelled in white jade. Other items include ceramic vessels and cheap imitations made solely for burying.
A newer exhibition hall has a slicker exhibition of other items found in the excavations that began in 1974, both from the tomb and from a neighbouring Jīn dynasty (1115–1234) well. These include a chessboard, boddhisattva head, and a marble headless Buddha and numerous tomb figurines.
For ¥30 your children can take part in simulated archaeology, digging up carefully planted items.
▶ Dàbǎotái Xī Hàn Mù Bówùguǎn, t 8361 2852, 9am–4pm. Free. m Dà Bǎo Tái (Fáng Shān Line). b to 世界公园: 特7, 477, 480, 692, 840, 913, 959, 967, 969, and walk ~800m SE.
The site is just south of the southwest corner of the Fourth Ring Road. easily reachable by metered taxi. Of the bus options, the tè7 (特7) from Qián Mén, which goes west to the Third Ring and then south round to the site via Liù Lǐ Qiáo, is the best choice. 世界公园 (Shìjiè Gōngyuán), where buses leave you, is the World Park featured in Jiǎ Zhāngkē’s film Shìjiè (The World), just a vile theme park that wants to be Florida’s Epcot Centre and offers miniatures of famous sights around the globe but with Chinese rather than American distortions. The tomb is a short walk beyond the bus stop. An English audio tour is available for ¥10 with ¥200 deposit.
Out here you’re among Běijīng’s innumerable satellite villages occupied by migrant workers and now also by unemployed graduates from Běijīng’s innumerable universities who live in tiny spaces and are known as ‘ant tribes’ (蚁族, yǐ zú). Turn right out of the gate and left at the T-junction to find an example, Guōgōng Zhuāng (郭公庄). If you’ve been mostly in tourist territory to date (whether budget or luxury), note this is the real economy on display, including simple restaurants with real prices. b 497 from here will take you to the vast markets at Mùxī Yuán Qiáo (木樨园桥), its other terminus. m Guōgōng Zhuāng is also on the Fáng Shān Line.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Peking Man Site Museum at Zhōukǒudiàn
Previously: Sleeping with an Emperor (story)
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For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
