By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

Liziba Station (CRT line 2) is famous for going through the building, and relevant departments set a lookout point for the station.

The famous rail station - Liziba Station in Chongqing

However, what people do not know is that there is an “underground palace” nearby the lookout point, under the overpass.

The location of the museum in the circle

It is an underground museum, in fact, covering about 10,000 m². Its name is Chongqing Bayu Horizontal Inscribed Boards Art Museum, which is a private museum.

The owner of the museum, Mr. Liu Guangrui (刘光瑞), is a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor as well as a folk collector.

The footpath to the museum

There is another world downstairs along with the footpath, behind the green belt on Niudi Road.

The owner of the museum, Liu Guangrui, stands at the entrance of the museum

The museum is divided into several rooms for exhibition or collection according to the construction of beams or piers.

The largest exhibition covers about 2,000 m², which is for horizontal inscribed boards (匾额), hanging more than 500 boards.

There are many horizontal inscribed boards hanging in the exhibition

Besides, there are other traditional items from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 – 1912), such as old furniture, ancient theatrical stage, etc.

There are more than 3,000 horizontal inscribed boards in total in this museum with a large chronological span.

The wooden table with tangram craft

A wooden table with tangram craft from the period of Guangxu Emperor (1871 – 1908) indicates a high craftsmanship.

The wooden table changes its shape after moving triangular or quadrilateral tables

It consists of triangular or quadrilateral tables, and it can change into different shapes after moving these tables.

The owner of the museum, Liu Guangrui, is narrating for the horizontal inscribed board

“Although the museum is in an economic loss, I still open it for free,” said Mr. Liu, “Chinese national culture should be wider spread to the public, and I hope people can reach a unique culture of horizontal inscribed boards.”

Source: CQCB