Taibai Stele Forest

Taibai Stele Forest

The Taibai Stele Forest is a cultural tourism attraction.

A Fine Addition Among Newly Built Stele Forests Nationwide — Since 1999, the Ma'anshan Municipal Government and Dangtu County Government have invested over 1.5 million yuan to construct the Taibai Stele Forest, which is now officially open to the public. The architecture of the Taibai Stele Forest was designed under the leadership of Professor Zhu Liangwen, Dean of the School of Architecture at Southern Industrial University. The style adopts a Jiangnan garden aesthetic, with corridors encircling the water, pavilions, terraces, and towers that are simple and elegant in design, uniquely shaped, and all featuring typical Huizhou architectural characteristics. The stele forest is filled with lush grass, rippling waters, rustic stone hills, and verdant trees, creating a delightful landscape.

The calligraphy works in the Taibai Stele Forest were collected through official letters issued by the Anhui Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and the Dangtu County People's Government. To date, 106 renowned calligraphers from modern and contemporary times have contributed their renditions of Li Bai’s classic poems from various periods. The scripts include regular, cursive, clerical, seal, running, and Wei stele styles. The poems were engraved onto the stelae by Mr. Ma Ruisheng, an engineer from the Hefei Sculpture Institute. The stelae are made of high-quality bluestone from Yushan, Jiangxi, known for its fine texture and pure color.

The plaque reading “Taibai Stele Material” was inscribed by Mr. Guo Moruo, featuring bold and powerful characters. The walls of the main hall are inlaid with works by seven modern master calligraphers: Mao Zedong, Guo Moruo, Lu Xun, Yu Youren, Shen Yinmo, Lin Sanzhi, and Sha Menghai. Exiting the hall, the corridors display works by 99 calligraphers from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and various provinces and cities. The artworks vary in style — some are rustic and subtle, others fresh and delicate, vigorous and unrestrained, or dynamic with dramatic turns.

The newly opened Taibai Stele Forest excels in calligraphy, architectural style, and stele engraving, and has become a fine masterpiece among newly built stele forests not only in Anhui Province but also across the nation.

The Poet Immortal Li Bai (February 8, 701 – December 762), courtesy name Taibai, also known as Qinglian Jushi (The Hermit of Green Lotus) or the Banished Immortal, and nicknamed Li Twelve, was a Tang Dynasty poet, often referred to together with Du Fu as “Li-Du.” Li Bai’s collected works, The Collected Poems of Li Taibai, include masterpieces such as “Quiet Night Thought,” “Drinking Alone under the Moon,” and “Dream Journey to Tianmu Mountain: A Farewell Poem.” He brought ancient romanticist literature to new heights, with his songs and seven-character quatrains reaching levels difficult for later poets to surpass. Li Bai achieved his greatest success in yuefu poetry, songs, and quatrains; his style is bold and unrestrained, fresh and graceful, rich in imagination, wondrous in artistic conception, and marvelous in language, characterized by romanticism and lofty themes... More details about Li Bai ++