Zhouyuan Site
The Zhouyuan Ruins yielded a large number of oracle bones, oracle shells, and bronze artifacts, and have been designated as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council. It served as a residence for the Zhou people until King Wen of Zhou led his clan to migrate to Feng.
In the second year of the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era, stone drums were discovered here. The ten stone drums are carved with different scripts, including large seal script, small seal script, four-character seal script, and a total of 718 characters. They are the earliest existing stone inscriptions in China and have been regarded as important examples for practicing seal script by calligraphers throughout history, earning the title of "the first law of calligraphy." The poem "Stone Drums" depicts vivid historical scenes of the Qin people's pioneering and development, which can be considered a grand epic of the Great Qin Empire, similar to the "East Is Red". The stone drums are famous for their "ethnic culture and history," and they were originally housed in the Beijing Palace Museum. In the place where the stone drums were discovered, a Chinese Stone Drum Park has been built by modern people. The park has two iconic buildings, the Stone Drum Pavilion and the Bronze Museum. The Stone Drum Pavilion is built on Stone Drum Mountain and is reached by climbing steps. It is not very tall, but it seems that the Stone Drum Pavilion is not open to the public. The Stone Drum Pavilion imitates the architecture of the Qin and Han dynasties, with five layers on the outside and nine layers on the inside, symbolizing the supreme status. On top of the Stone Drum Pavilion is the city emblem of Baoji - the phoenix, which gave the city its name due to the auspicious "stone rooster crowing" in 757. From here, you can also have a panoramic view of the entire Baoji city, and the view is probably even better from the top of the pavilion.
Shigu Ge, located on Shigu Mountain, is a Qin and Han-style building with five levels on the outside and nine levels on the inside, symbolizing great honor. The top of Shigu Ge features the city emblem of Baoji – the phoenix, and the city of Baoji got its name from the auspicious event of "Stone Rooster's Crowing" in 757. From here, you can also have a panoramic view of the entire Baoji city, and the view is probably better from the top of the tower.
Baoji Bronze Museum
Baoji Bronze Museum is actually located inside Baoji China Stone Drum Park. It is the only thematic museum named after bronze in the country and was upgraded to a national museum in 2017. Due to Baoji's long history, the museum has a collection of many precious artifacts that are worth visiting. The main building has five floors, with the high platform gate and the bronze Hou Tu located on top, resembling "Tai Five Cauldrons".
The Yang Village has a hidden collection of bronze artifacts
When you enter the museum, you will find that many bronzes were unearthed in the same location - Yangjiacun. This inconspicuous village with its bluestone slabs caused a sensation in the national archaeology community after its establishment. Up to now, the village has made five major archaeological discoveries, including the Yangshao culture, the Erlitou culture, the Western Zhou culture, and especially the Western Zhou culture. Experts also pointed out that the Yangjiacun site is a microcosm of the Western Zhou history. In the cultural relics unearthed in 2003, a total of 372 inscriptions were found, making it the most significant discovery of bronze inscriptions since the founding of the country.
