Highlights of Hanzhong Museum

The Ancient Hantai Platform is the palace ruins of Liu Bang, King of Han. Standing 7 metres high and facing south, it is built on three terraces with rammed earth, featuring the typical architectural layout of imperial palaces of the Qin and Han dynasties.

After the Banquet at Hongmen, Liu Bang was enfeoffed as King of Han by Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu. His domain covered Ba, Shu and Hanzhong, with Nanzheng (present-day Hantai District of Hanzhong) as the capital. Liu Bang travelled to Hanzhong via the Ziwu Trail and burned the plank roads behind him on the way, showing that he had no intention of marching back north. Filled with frustration upon arriving in Hanzhong, he was comforted by Xiao He. Xiao He told him that Hanzhong was also called Tianhan (the Heavenly Han), a most auspicious name. The Milky Way in heaven corresponded to the Han River on earth, which was a sign of divine will. He urged Liu Bang to establish his reign here.

The King of Han then built up his strength. Following Xiao He’s advice, he appointed Han Xin — the man who endured the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs — as the Grand General, stunning the entire army. Later, he openly ordered the repair of the plank roads while secretly marching his troops through Chencang. Crossing the Qinling Mountains northward, he defeated the arrogant Xiang Yu and founded the unified feudal dynasty, the Han Dynasty, historically known as the Western Han Dynasty.

Hanzhong was the birthplace of the Western Han Empire. Stories such as "openly repairing plank roads while sneaking through Chencang", and "Xiao He Chasing Han Xin by Moonlight as the Cold Stream Rose Overnight" have been passed down for thousands of years.

After the Song Dynasty, the Ancient Hantai Platform became the rear garden of the Hanzhong Prefectural Government. The Wangjiang Tower, originally built as the Tianhan Tower in the Southern Song Dynasty, sits on the highest point of the platform, blending northern and southern architectural styles.

The Shimen of Baoxie Trail and its cliff carvings were listed among the first batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units approved by the State Council. The Baoxie Trail was the longest and most convenient Shu Road crossing the Qinling Mountains. Shimen, a tunnel chiselled open during the Yongping reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty, ranks as the earliest man-made mountain-traversing traffic tunnel in the world. Literati of successive dynasties left 178 cliff inscriptions on the tunnel and the cliffs on both sides. The most celebrated among them are the Thirteen Treasures of Shimen, hailed as national treasures.

The Thirteen Treasures of Shimen collectively refer to thirteen pieces of cliff calligraphy carved along the ancient Baoxie Trail, inside the Shimen Tunnel and on the nearby cliffs.

The Inscription on Lord Qiu’s Excavation of the Baoxie Trail from the Eastern Han Dynasty was originally carved on a cliff about half a kilometre south of the tunnel. The stele is made of mica schist with an uneven, cracked surface, and many characters have faded over time. Its calligraphy blends clerical script with seal script, carrying a strong ancient charm. This unique writing style exists nowhere else in China, making it a precious national cultural treasure