Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State

Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State

The Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Guo State Museum is located on Shangbeicun Ridge in the urban area of Sanmenxia City. It is a thematic museum built on the site of the chariot and horse pits of the Western Zhou Dynasty’s Guo State. Established in 1984, the museum covers an area of 1,200 square meters and features an antique hip-and-gable roof architectural style. Inside, there are three main exhibits: A Brief History of the Guo State, Stone Carvings and Epitaph Art Through the Ages in Sanmenxia, as well as the Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State and replicas of ancient war chariots.

The Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State were discovered in 1956 during the construction of the Sanmenxia Hydraulic Project on the Yellow River on Shangcun Ridge. They were excavated by the National Yellow River Reservoir Archaeological Team. Upon the recommendation of Guo Moruo, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the site was preserved in situ. The pit is rectangular, with a bottom measuring 15 meters north-south and 3.82 meters east-west, and a depth of 4.1 meters. It contains five preserved war chariots and ten horses, arranged from north to south. The chariots have wooden structures with a single yoke and two wheels, coated in lacquer, and consist of components such as wheels, carriages, and yokes. They are well-preserved with clear details. Beneath each chariot lie two horses, facing north and neatly arranged, buried after being killed. Dog skeletons were also found beneath the carriage bottoms. A large number of bronze chariot ornaments, bronze horse ornaments, and other burial objects were also unearthed. This museum is a comprehensive facility established at the core area of the astonishing discovery of the Guo State noble tombs, and it fully displays Guo State culture through several thematic exhibition halls: The Spring and Autumn of the Guo State, Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from the Guo State, Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from the Tomb of Liang Ji, and Exhibition of the Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State.

The noble tomb complex of the Guo State covers a total area of 580,000 square meters. Within the 140,000 square meters explored by archaeologists, there are 142 various noble tombs. Among them, there are 19 medium and large-sized tombs, 12 chariot and horse pits, and over 50 other types of sacrificial pits. Of the nine tombs that have been excavated and cleared, there are two tombs of rulers, one tomb of a crown prince, one tomb of a noblewoman, and two chariot and horse pits. A total of over 17,000 cultural relics across nine categories have been unearthed, including bronze, iron, jade, stone, gold, pottery, wood, leather, and hemp cloth. Among these, more than 200 large bronze ritual vessels were found, most of which bear inscriptions. The jade-faced mask sewn with beads is considered the prototype of the “eye-covering” artifacts from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The jade bead necklaces are predecessors of the Han Dynasty’s gold-threaded jade suits. The eight unearthed bell chimes form the only complete set discovered from late Western Zhou Dynasty burials. The gold belt ornament made up of twelve gold pieces is rare among Zhou Dynasty archaeological finds. A large number of precious weapons were unearthed, especially the bronze-core iron sword with a jade handle, confirmed to be the earliest known example of man-made ironware in China. Its discovery pushed back the history of iron smelting in China by over a century, earning it the title of “China’s First Sword.” The major discoveries at the Guo State noble cemetery provide rare physical materials for the study of the history, politics, economy, culture, religious systems, as well as metallurgy, transportation, textiles, and ancient warfare of the Guo State and even the Western Zhou Dynasty. These findings are of great historical value. The cultural relics unearthed from the Guo State noble tombs were listed by the National Cultural Heritage Administration as one of China’s Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries for two consecutive years in 1990 and 1994. In 1996, the site was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council.

The Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State is located on the north side of Chunqiu Road in Sanmenxia City. It is a thematic museum built on the site of the chariot and horse pits of the Western Zhou Dynasty’s Guo State. Established in 1984, the museum covers an area of 1,200 square meters and features an antique hip-and-gable roof architectural style. Inside, there are three main exhibits: A Brief History of the Guo State, Stone Carvings and Epitaph Art Through the Ages in Sanmenxia, as well as the Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State and replicas of ancient war chariots.

The Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State were discovered in 1956 during the construction of the Sanmenxia Hydraulic Project on the Yellow River on Shangcun Ridge. They were excavated by the National Yellow River Reservoir Archaeological Team. Upon the recommendation of Guo Moruo, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the site was preserved in situ.

The Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State is located on the north side of Chunqiu Road in Sanmenxia City. The Guo State Museum is a thematic museum established based on the national key cultural relics protection unit—the Western Zhou Dynasty Guo State tomb site. It lies to the north of the Yellow River and faces the Xiaoshan Mountain range to the south. It is a modern, multifunctional museum integrating cultural relic exhibitions, site displays, and landscape gardens. Established in 1984, the museum covers an area of 1,200 square meters and features an antique hip-and-gable roof architectural style. Inside, there are three main exhibits: A Brief History of the Guo State, Stone Carvings and Epitaph Art Through the Ages in Sanmenxia, as well as the Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State and replicas of ancient war chariots.

The Guo State tomb site is the only large-scale, well-preserved, orderly arranged, and complete public cemetery of a major feudal state from the Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods discovered in China so far, covering a total area of 324,500 square meters. Since its discovery in 1956, over 800 various sites have been identified, and nearly 30,000 cultural relics have been unearthed. Especially notable are the two large ruler tombs of Duke Jiu and Duke Zhong of the Guo State excavated in the 1990s, which were rated as one of the “Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries in China” for two consecutive years due to the large number, high value, and high status of the tomb owners of the unearthed relics. These were also included in the list of “100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in 20th Century China.” In August 2002, the Guo State Museum was rated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and passed the ISO14001 international environmental management system certification. In August 2003, it won the fifth “Top Ten Best Exhibitions of National Museums.”

The Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State were discovered in 1956 during the construction of the Sanmenxia Hydraulic Project on the Yellow River on Shangcun Ridge. They were excavated by the National Yellow River Reservoir Archaeological Team. Upon the recommendation of Guo Moruo, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the site was preserved in situ.

The pit is rectangular, with a bottom measuring 15 meters north-south and 3.82 meters east-west, and a depth of 4.1 meters. It contains five preserved war chariots and ten horses, arranged from north to south. The chariots have wooden structures with a single yoke and two wheels, coated in lacquer, and consist of components such as wheels, carriages, and yokes. They are well-preserved with clear details. Beneath each chariot lie two horses, facing north and neatly arranged, buried after being killed. Dog skeletons were also found beneath the carriage bottoms. A large number of bronze chariot ornaments, bronze horse ornaments, and other burial objects were also unearthed.

The Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State are the most completely preserved site from the transition period between the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties discovered in China to date. They hold significant historical, scientific, and artistic value, and were designated as a key cultural relics protection unit of Henan Province in 1963.

The Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State covers an area of 150 acres. Its main exhibit, “The Site and Cultural Relics Exhibition of the Guo State Tomb Area,” is divided into four sections: “Exquisite Treasures of the Guo State—An Exhibition of the Essence of Cultural Relics Unearthed from the Guo State Tomb Area,” “The Charm of Liang Ji—An Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from the Tomb of the Guo State Ruler’s Consort,” “Rumbling Chariots and Neighing Horses—An Exhibition of the Underground Chariot and Horse Military Formation Site Cluster of the Guo State,” and “In Search of the Ruler—An Exhibition of the Site Cluster of the Tomb of Duke Ji of the Guo State.” On display here are the earliest and largest underground chariot and horse military formations in China, the first imperial tomb of ancient rulers, “China’s First Iron Sword,” the national treasures such as the earliest and most complete jade face mask of the Guo Ji clan and the seven-jade-pendant necklace. This is also the birthplace of the Guo surname worldwide and the site of the historical event “Borrowing the Route to Attack Guo.”

The unique geographical location, distinctive architectural design, dreamlike exhibition layout, magnificent national treasures, majestic underground military formation, mysterious tomb of ancient rulers, innovative service philosophy, and refined visiting atmosphere make the Museum of Chariot and Horse Pits of the Guo State an excellent destination for sightseeing, leisure, and savoring a rich historical and cultural experience.

Source: Henan Provincial Tourism Administration