National Stone Museum
Located in Cuiwei Lu in Hanyang District, the National Stone Museum, Wuhan opened to the public in 1993 as a tourist attraction and it has received large numbers of visitors both domestic and foreign. National Stone Museum, Wuhan will show you how enchanting unique stones can be.
So far the National Stone Museum has stored more than 1,300 pieces of stone which were all discovered in China except for one which came from Malaysia. The stones were collected from different regions of China; some were original to Inner Mongolia in the north, some were discovered in Hainan Province in the south end of China, some were collected from Suzhou Province in the east and some from Gansu Province in the west.
The complete collection is too large to display. Visitors have an opportunity to see the most famous of four kinds of stones -- Taihu, Lingbi, Yuha, and Yingde -- as well as the stones of Shoushan, Qingtian, Chanhai, Guanglu, and Balin. The most valuable stone in the museum is a piece of crystal, the third largest in China. Stones here are divided into different groups by figure, vein, mineral component, and ancient animal fossil. Some of the stones are named Ji Nian Shi (Commemorative Stone), which have a close relation with some important historical event.
All of the stones in the museum are intact and crude with naturally pleasing shapes or designs. Generally speaking, a piece of stone should have at least one of the peculiarities listed below: slender, large, elegant, odd, ugly, rugged, or clear enough light can go through.
In China, the appreciation of stones dates back to the Jin Dynasty (265-420) and was popular all over the country until the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties. With a thousand-year history, Chinese have developed their interest in searching, collecting, and appreciating stones. This tendency gradually spread into Southeast Asia and Europe and has become an international pastime. Statistics shows there are at least 2,000 stone aficionados all over the world.
After seeing various kinds of stones, visitors can go to Guiyuan Temple, which is just opposite the stone museum on the other side of the road.
Source: TravelChinaGuide.com
Editor: Xu Xinlei
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