A Glimpse of Northern Wei Blue - Datong City Museum

Datong City Museum, among city-level museums, stands out in terms of its collections, exhibition layout, and historical value. The predecessor of Datong City Museum was the Datong Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall, which has moved several times, from Huayan Temple to the West Hall of the Exhibition Hall, to the No. 10 Middle School Planetarium, until the new museum opened at the end of 2014. 🏯 Datong has a long history, once serving as Pingcheng, the capital established by the Tuoba Xianbei for the Northern Wei Dynasty, and later as the Western Capital for the Liao and Jin Dynasties, and a military stronghold during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Datong City Museum has a rich collection of exhibits, with treasures such as the lacquered wooden panels from the Sima Jinlong tomb, glazed pottery formations, and the shadow blue glazed openwork porcelain pillow of the Guanghan Palace. Among them, the most beautiful are the glass artifacts from the Northern Wei Dynasty. 🧊 The glass artifacts from the Northern Wei Dynasty, also known as 'Northern Wei Blue,' serve as one of the business cards of the Datong City Museum, displayed on the second floor in the 'Capital Pingcheng of Wei' exhibition. 🥣 The exhibits include bowls, vases, and pots in full array, with a blue hue as clear as lake water. Pingcheng, the capital of the Northern Wei, became a hub connecting the East and West after the establishment of the Northern Wei regime. The glass-making technique from the Western Regions, introduced by the Dayuezhi at that time, led to the creation of this 'Northern Wei Blue,' representing the craftsmanship level of the Northern Wei at that time. 📍 Address: No. 506 Taihe Road, Wenyin Lake Street, Pingcheng District, Datong City, Shanxi Province 🈺 Opening Hours: 9:00-17:00 (No entry after 16:00)