Leitai Han Tomb and Culture Museum (Wuwei)

The Leitai Han Tomb and Culture Museum is in Leitai Park, Liangzhou District, in the city of Wuwei, Gansu, China. It is best known as the place where the Galloping Horse bronze, also called the Flying Horse of Gansu, was excavated in 1969 from an Eastern Han tomb. The original sculpture is held by the Gansu Provincial Museum in Lanzhou, so the Wuwei museum displays replicas and other finds from the tomb. The site is built around the tomb itself, a brick-vaulted structure beneath a raised earthen platform, and visitors can walk down into the underground chambers to see the layout of the front, middle and rear rooms. The chambers once held burial goods that reflect the status of the general or official buried there, including bronze horses, chariots, figures of attendants and soldiers, and household objects. Many of these items are shown in the adjoining museum, which also explains the history of Wuwei as a Han-dynasty garrison on the Hexi Corridor and a stopping point on the Silk Road. A modest set of exhibits places the Flying Horse in context, with explanations of its design and its role as a national symbol. The park around the tomb has shaded paths and a mound where the tomb sits, and the visit is quiet and unhurried. A visit typically takes one to one and a half hours, which makes the site an easy stop within a day in Wuwei. Admission is about 45 yuan. The museum is easy to reach from the city centre by bus, with several routes stopping near the south gate, and by taxi for a short ride. Spring to autumn mornings are the most comfortable time, with softer light and fewer visitors, while summer afternoons can be hot and winter is cold. Crowds are small outside national holidays. Visitors keen on the original bronze should plan a stop at the museum in Lanzhou as well. Photography rules vary by gallery, and visitors should follow signs inside the tomb chambers.