Xi’an Stele Forest Museum’s New Exhibition Earns National Top‑Ten Honor

The 23rd National Museum Top Ten Exhibitions for 2025 has announced its winners, with Xi’an’s Stele Forest Museum’s new‑hall basic display, “Gold Stone Deep Source Ink Bridge,” earning a spot.

Launched alongside the museum’s new building in 2025, the exhibition spans over 10,000 square metres and showcases 1,164 artifacts, 670 of which are being shown to the public for the first time—setting both scale and content records for the institution.

Organized around the themes of culture, history, heritage and exchange, the show is divided into four sections. “Radiant Chang’an, Enduring Legacy” features 26 celebrated Han‑Tang steles, including works by Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, plus the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum, highlighting the stele forest’s premier place in Chinese civilization. “Characters, Calligraphy, the Stele Forest” traces the evolution of Chinese characters and calligraphy, portraying the museum as a “stone library.” The “Yu Youren and the Mandarin‑Duck Seven‑Willow Studio” section presents donated epitaphs and rubbings that convey deep patriotic sentiment. Finally, “Ancient Steles and the Silk Road” uses pieces such as the Nestorian Stele to narrate cultural exchange along the ancient trade routes.

These four chapters together build a multilayered interpretation of stone‑carved civilization, allowing visitors to appreciate the full brilliance of epigraphic culture from multiple angles.

The selection was overseen by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and organized by the Chinese Museums Association and the Cultural Relics Newspaper. The winners were revealed at the International Museum Day main venue in Hohhot’s Inner Mongolia Museum, alongside acclaimed exhibitions from the Palace Museum, Hubei Provincial Museum and the Inner Mongolia Museum.