[2025 Wuwei Attraction] Travel Guide for Leitai Park - Han Tomb (Updated Mar)

Wuwei 🏯 is a city where history and modernity intertwine, and every corner exudes a unique charm. ✅ Must-try experiences: ✨ Immerse yourself in history and culture by visiting Leitai Han Tomb to see the majestic "Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow." Listen to ancient scriptures being recited at Haizang Temple and Kumarajiva Temple, and feel the weight of history. The simplicity of the Confucian Temple and the grandeur of Tiantishan Grottoes make for an unmissable historical journey. ✨ In Wuwei's natural environment, Binggou River Forest 🌳 Park and Tianzhu Binggou River Ecological and Cultural Tourism Scenic Area are havens for your soul 🛝. Stand among them, breathe in the fresh air, and feel at one with nature. 🍽 Food recommendations: ✨ As for food 🥯, Wuwei is a must-visit destination. At Beiguan Market, you can taste authentic "Three Carriages," a unique flavor of Wuwei. On Liangzhou Old Street, a variety of local snacks will make your mouth water. 🌟 Highlights: ✨ Folk experiences are also a highlight of Wuwei. At Wushaoling International Ski Resort 🎿, feel the passion and joy brought by snow and ice. At Minqin Ruian Fort, delve into local folk culture and history for unforgettable memories. ✨ If you're interested in history and culture, museums at Leitai and the Confucian Temple are worth a visit. Here, you can learn about the origins of Chinese printing, the splendor of Western Xia culture, and the charm of Liangzhou poetry. ❤ Recommended reasons: ✨ In Wuwei, history, culture, natural scenery, food, and folk customs will provide you with an unforgettable experience. We hope you feel the unique charm of this city during your journey in Wuwei.

The last stop before leaving Wuwei is the Leitai Han Tomb, where the famous "Horse Treading on Flying Swallows" was unearthed. In October 1983, the bronze galloping horse "Horse Treading on Flying Swallows" was designated as China's tourism symbol by the National Tourism Administration. Leitai Han Tomb is by far the largest tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Hexi. A total of 231 precious cultural relics including gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, bone, lacquer, stone, pottery and 30,000 ancient coins were unearthed. It is known as A rich "underground museum". The most outstanding among the unearthed cultural relics are 99 exquisitely cast bronze chariot and horse ceremonial figurines, and the most valuable of them all is a bronze galloping horse. The originals of these two cultural relics are collected in the Gansu Provincial Museum. The ones in the scenic area are replicas, but you can experience the Han tombs in the scenic area for yourself. There are two Han tombs, and the two cultural relics unearthed are from Tomb No. 1. Tomb No. 2 was robbed and no valuable cultural relics were unearthed. The two tombs are much smaller in scale than the Han tombs in Xuzhou. After all, the Han tombs in Xuzhou are the tombs of princes. The owner of the Leitai Han Tomb is still a mystery. What's even more amazing is that the bricks on the walls of the tomb are not bonded with materials, and are supported entirely by the pressure between the bricks. The Leitai Han Tomb is a large brick chamber tomb from the late Eastern Han Dynasty (186-219 AD, more than 1,800 years ago) discovered in 1969. The tomb door faces east, with a total length of about 40 meters and an area of ​​about 60 square meters. The walls on both sides of the slope tomb passage are decorated with arrays of floral patterns painted in vermilion, with simple and rough brushwork. The brick part includes the tomb door, corridor, front chamber with left and right ear chambers, middle chamber with right ear chamber and back chamber. The tomb door and the walls of the tomb chamber are made of blue bricks and black-painted bricks to form various diamond patterns, with red and black lines as wall decorations. The front and rear chambers and the middle chamber have an overturned roof with ink lines and red and yellow lines. Lotus caisson patterns are painted in , gray, white and other colors. There are 99 chariot and horse ceremonial figurines in total. It consists of 39 bronze horses, 1 bronze ox, 1 ax cart, 4 chariots, 3 chariots, 2 small carts, 3 large carts, 1 ox cart, 17 warrior figurines holding spears and halberds and 28 It consists of 19.5 to 24 cm tall slave figurines. This is the largest number of chariot and horse ceremonial bronze figurines discovered so far in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is magnificent and exquisitely cast, showing the outstanding achievements of group bronze sculptures in the Han Dynasty.

🍀 Leitai Han Tombs are located in the north section of Zhongguan Road, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. It is a world-renowned treasure and the birthplace of "Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow," the symbol of Chinese tourism. 🍀 Historical evolution: Leitai was built by Zhang Mao, King of Former Liang, as Lingjun Terrace. In the fourth year of Taixing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, another Leitai was built here to worship the god of thunder. On the terrace, there are 10 ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, including the Temple of Lei Zu and the Temple of Sanxing Doumu. The buildings are magnificent and grand. The surrounding area is filled with ancient trees and shimmering lakes. 🍀 Main attractions: ❇️ Main Hall and Side Hall: The main hall is mainly used to house the spirit tablet of the deceased, and it is the place where the soul of the deceased normally lives. The attendants serve the spirit tablet as if it were a living person. The side hall is an auxiliary building of the main hall, mainly used to worship the spirit of the deceased when it comes here to play. ❇️ Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow: The bronze galloping horse is also known as "Ma Chao Longque." It is green-bronze in color, 34.5 cm high, 45 cm long, and weighs 7.15 kg. The horse is depicted in a galloping posture, with three legs in the air, head held high, and tail raised. Under its right hind leg, it tramples on a "wind god bird" dragon sparrow, which is spreading its wings and flying back, looking back in surprise. This design breaks away from the traditional image of the heavenly horse, while still conforming to the principles of mechanical balance. It contains rich cultural connotations of the heavenly horse, and its casting technique is exquisite. It is a masterpiece of bronze art. ❇️ Han Dynasty Ancient Well: The ancient well is located in the southeast corner of Leitai, 2 meters from the entrance of the tomb passage. It runs through the entire rammed earth layer and is adjacent to the tomb passage, extending all the way into the ancient tomb. The well is 12.8 meters deep and is built with typical Han Dynasty thin bricks. The bottom is laid in a "human character" shape, which is rare in Chinese archaeology. According to research, this ancient well gradually dried up in the mid-1990s. ❇️ Leitai Lake: Leitai Lake, located next to Leitai, has naturally revived after being dry for over 20 years. The spring water gurgles, the waves shimmer, and the stream flows gently. The surrounding area is covered with green grass, and willows and poplars sway in the breeze. The creation of heaven and earth, combined with the hard work of the people of Wuwei, has made Leitai, the birthplace of the bronze galloping horse, a place where old and new appearances coexist, attracting a large number of Chinese and foreign scholars and tourists. 🚗 Parking lot: There is a large parking lot next to the scenic spot. I forgot whether it was charged, but it definitely wasn't expensive. 🎫 Tickets: Available at the ticket window or online. Adult ticket: RMB 45/person

Leitai Han Tomb, located at No. 272, Beiguan Middle Road, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, was built in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and is famous for the national treasure-level cultural relic Flying Horse of Gansu. In October 1983, the "Flying Horse of Gansu" was designated as the China Tourism Logo by the National Tourism Administration; in 1985, Wuwei City designated the "Flying Horse of Gansu" as the city emblem symbolizing Wuwei's soaring; in 1986, it was designated as a national treasure-level cultural relic.

"Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow", also known as "Horse that Outruns the Swallow" or "Horse Surpassing the Sparrowhawk", is a bronze statue that vividly captures the essence of a heavenly steed soaring through the skies. It is a fine cultural relic unearthed in the late 1960s from the Leitai Han Dynasty tombs in Wuwei City, Gansu Province. It was discovered by local farmers while digging air-raid shelters beside Leitai during the "deep digging" era of 1969 and was later identified by experts as a brick and stone tomb from the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In 1983, the Galloping Horse was designated as the symbol of China's tourism; in 1996, it was appraised as a national treasure by a panel of experts from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage; and in 2002, it was included in the first batch of precious cultural relics banned from being exhibited abroad by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. There are currently three unsolved mysteries regarding the Leitai Han tombs. The first is that despite the tomb's grand chamber architecture and numerous precious burial objects, only the surname Zhang is known for the tomb owner, with the owner's identity remaining a mystery. The second is the appearance of the character "喜喜" (double happiness) on the south wall of the tomb chamber, composed of black and white bricks. This character, supposedly created by Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty in a drunken state, raises the question of whether its presence in this tomb chamber is a mere coincidence or if the character already existed at the time. The third mystery is that experts have tested the bricks from the tomb chamber and well for pressure resistance and corrosion resistance, finding that they can withstand a pressure of 366 to 374 kilograms per square centimeter, whereas modern bricks can only withstand 150 to 200 kilograms per square centimeter. The method of preparing and firing these bricks has not yet been clarified by the experts. Leitai Park - Han Tombs