Brief  Introduction: The Lei Tai Han Tomb in Wuwei city, a large brick tomb dating from the late Eastern Han Dynasty (186-219AD), is famous for its unearthed brone sculpture of horse stepping on a flying swallow which was regarded as the symbol of Chinese tourism. The tomb is located in Beiguan Middle Road, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. It covers an area of 124,000 square meters and has a history of more than 1,700 years. 'Lei 'mean thunder in Chinese, and 'tai' means terrace. 'Lei Tai' means the terrace of God Thunder because an old temple of God thunder was built on the terrace. Lei Tai was built by Zhang Mao, the king of the former Liang (301-- 375 AD). It is 106 meters long, 60 meters wide and 8.5 meters high . On the terrace, there are 10 ancient buildings with magnificent architecture and grand scale built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as Lei Zu Temple, Three Stars Dou Temple.

In 1969, when local farmers were digging the air-raid shelter under the leitai terrace, the tomb was discovered by accident. Although the Lei Tai Han Tomb has been excavated and stolen for many times, there are still many remains. It can be a "rich underground museum”. The passage of tomb is 19.34 meters long, and the whole tomb chamber is divided into three chambers with front chamber, middle chamber and back chamber, in which three small extra rooms were found as well. More than 230 pieces of precious cultural relics,such as gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, lacquer, stone and pottery, and more than 30,000 pieces of ancient coins have been unearthed from the tomb, among which 127 pieces of bronze ware (some with inscriptions) were unearthed. The thing with the most exquisite casting technology is the bronze chariots and horses guard of honor. And the sculpture of the highest level of technology is a copper galloping horse with the height of 34.5 cm and length of 40.5 cm , of which the right hind hoof is stepping on a bird, other three hooves are flying in the air, and the long tail is rising.

In October 1983, the copper sculpture of "Horse Stepping on a Swallow" was identified by the National Tourism Administration as a symbol of Chinese tourism. It was designated as a national treasure in 1986. From April 1973 to August 1975, it has been exhibited in France, Japan, Britain, Romania, Austria, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Mexico, Canada,Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and other 14 countries and regions,causing great sensation and high praise. It is now preserved in Gansu provincial museum.

Lei Tai Han Tomb is a key cultural relic protection unit in Gansu Province, the national key cultural relic protection unit and the national AAAA level tourist attraction.

The Level: AAAA tourist attraction, the symbol of Chinese tourism

Admission Fee: 45 yuan/person

Opening Time: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.(The cultural exhibition hall is closed on Monday)

Visiting Time: 1-1.5 hour

Better Seasons to Visit: all seasons

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