https://sg.trip.com/moments/detail/wuwei-290-122027116
JAYSON KNIGHT

Explore the unearthed sites of China's tourism symbols

"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
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*Created by local travelers and translated by AI.
Posted: May 31, 2024
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