China: Wen Miao (Confucius Temple), Wuwei, Gansu Province

The Wen Miao (Confucian Temple) was constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and first used in 1439.

Wuwei has a population of around 500,000, mainly Han Chinese, but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.

Wuwei’s most famous historic artefact, the celebrated Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu, was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou, the horse’s likeness – depicted at an elegant, flying gallop, with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow – is everywhere to be seen, most notably at the centre of Wuwei’s downtown Wenhua Square.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia