Xi'an Beilin Museum
The Forest of Steles — China's great library in stone, begun in 1087 and housed in the old Confucian temple inside the wall by Wenchang Gate: the Tang classics carved on 114 tablets, the master calligraphers' stelae people learn to write from, the Tang-dynasty stone horses and Buddhas in the sculpture hall, and the 781 Nestorian Stele, the earliest record of Christianity in China, which Western visitors ask for by name. A northern extension opened in 2025 with a new permanent exhibition (a national 'top ten' pick in 2026); the museum went to a single ¥85 ticket for two years from 12 May 2025, no closed day, ID-checked timed booking five days ahead on its WeChat official account, website or Alipay. Its own homepage still shows an April 2025 notice with a ¥10 stopgap price, which is out of date.
Real-name timed booking up to 5 days ahead on the WeChat official account, the official website (pcticket.xablbwg.cn) or Alipay; ID or ticket QR at the gate; cap 20,199 a day (official guide; the ticket site still says 7 days ahead). Tickets 029-87253331Verified · 2025-04Source ↗
Passport required; see details for entry handling. Booked to an ID number; the ticket site requires foreign visitors to enter their passport details ('外籍人员录入本人护照信息'), and the footer lists passports among accepted documents. Discount and free categories are 'PRC citizens only' (official) — see the city tips note on concessions.
WeChat 西安碑林博物馆 (or pcticket.xablbwg.cn / Alipay) → date within 5 days → time slot → name + ID/passport number → ¥85 → QR at the gate.
Book the first slot at 9:00 and go straight to Room 2 (the calligraphy masters) and the Nestorian Stele before the tour groups; the sculpture hall and the new north halls stay quiet all day.
Bilingual labels on the main stelae and in the new halls; paid guiding at the desk inside: 90 minutes for up to 8 people, Chinese ¥300 a group or ¥40 a head, foreign-language ¥500 a group or ¥65 a head; 120-minute tours cost more (official guide, September 2026).
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