//
Photo: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Western Xia empire was destroyed by the Mongols in the 14th century, however a community of Tangut people from the Western Xia erected these pillars far away in Baoding in the 16th century. It is one of the few examples of the complex Tangut script found outside of Western China.
The Tangut dharani pillars are two stone dharani pillars, with the text of a dhāraṇī-sutra inscribed on them in the Tangut script, which were found in Baoding, Hebei, China in 1962. The dharani pillars were erected during the middle of the Ming dynasty, in 1502, and they are the latest known examples of the use of the Tangut script. They are also very rare examples of Tangut monumental inscriptions outside of the territories ruled by the Western Xia dynasty. The only other known example of an inscription in the Tangut script that has been found in north China is on the 14th-century Cloud Platform at Juyongguan in Beijing. These pillars indicate that there was a vibrant Tangut community living in Baoding, far from the Tangut homeland in modern Ningxia and Gansu, during the early 16th century, nearly 300 years after the Western Xia was annihilated by the Mongol Empire.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
直隶总督署, Zhili Governor-General’s Office
Built in 1729, this was the office of the Viceroy of Zhili from the time of its construction up until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be the best preserved Qing-era provincial governor’s office in China and has thus become one of the most popular attractions in central Baoding.
保定市动物园
河北大学博物馆
Visitors are required to make a booking on the museum’s WeChat account before visiting the museum.
保定军校纪念馆
The Baoding Military Academy was one of the top military academies in China during the early 20th century. It was founded in 1902 by the Viceroy of Zhili, Yuan Shikai, and continued to operate until 1923. Around a third of the army officers who fought for China during the Second Sino-Japanese War received training here, including Chiang Kai-Shek. As of May 2024, the museum is closed for renovations.
保定博物馆, 保定市博物馆
The Baoding Museum is a large museum with a lot of city and Great Wall history.
保定自然博物馆
Opened in early 2024, this new museum is a branch of the Paleozoological Museum of China, which is based in Beijing. It is many times larger than the Beijing branch and claims to be one of the largest natural history museums in Asia. Notable items in the museum’s collection include the world’s only complete skeleton of a Chinese velociraptor and some well-preserved pterosaur eggs.