Dingzhou Stele Forest

Dingzhou Stele Forest is located in the bustling center of Dingzhou city, adjacent to the commercial street to the west and Zhongshan Middle Road to the south. The park preserves a large number of Han Dynasty stone carvings and historical steles from various dynasties, and is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province. Upon entering the park, visitors can first view 488 inscribed Han Dynasty stone tablets inlaid along the corridors. These stone tablets were unearthed in...

Dingzhou Stele Forest

Dingzhou Stele Forest

Dingzhou Stele Forest is a cultural tourism attraction.

Dingzhou Stele Forest

Located in the bustling center of Dingzhou city, adjacent to the commercial street to the west and Zhongshan Middle Road to the south. The park preserves a large number of Han Dynasty stone carvings and historical steles from various dynasties, and is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

Upon entering the park, visitors can first view 488 inscribed Han Dynasty stone tablets inlaid along the corridors. These stone tablets were unearthed in 1959 at the tomb of Liu Yan, the King of Zhongshan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in Beizhuangzi, Dingzhou. The inscriptions record information about the quarry sites, commanderies, counties, and the names of the stonemasons involved. They provide important insights into over ten commanderies across six regions of the Eastern Han Dynasty, making them a crucial resource for studying Han geography and administrative names. They also offer a wealth of textual material on the evolution of Chinese script from seal to clerical script, and the preservation of such a large collection of Han inscriptions is rare in China.

In addition, the park houses other notable stone carvings such as the Imperial Stele of Emperor Qianlong, the Wind and Rain Bamboo Stele of Guan Yu, the Snow Wave Stone of Su Dongpo, the engraved image of Su Dongpo’s Snow Wave Stone, the Yin-Yang Bamboo Stone of Wang Wei, and the Painting Record of the Ancestral Hall of Han Dynasty’s Han Wei Gong. These carvings hold significant historical and artistic value, making the site an ideal destination for enthusiasts of stone inscriptions and calligraphy.