So, I hope sharing this folk treasure to my steemit friends will help spread the charm of this place and let culture and art intertwine. Lets take a look at the Guanzhong folk art museum and experience the folk spirit upfront as well as have a look at what the folk houses look like.

Guanzhong is situated in the middle of the Shaanxi province.

As I walk into this courtyard, I realise why these folk homes are nicknamed "museums". Despite not having the same noble feel of the 3 other renowned museums (Palace Museum, National palace museum etc.) it's still a priceless historical and cultural relic - every brick and tile recounts the history behind these beautiful buildings.

Our theme today will be the art of doors. Rather, the frames around them. Here they can be divided into two types: carved or engraved, and painted. The shapes of the entrances can be divided into two types too, the rectangular and the arch. All of them are hand made and intricately beautiful.

The courtyard is composed of eight homes that surround the courtyard and was built in the Ming Qing dynasties. They were once inhabited by government officials or generals and so, these residences would have been considered homes for rich people in the ancient times.

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This is the handle of one of the doors, the handle itself is two dragons biting onto the knob.

This beautiful stage was where early Chinese opera performers from the Qing era would perform.


I really like the designs of the stone engraving.

The wooden panels have dragons, phoenix's and lotuses. These actually look three dimensional, as if they're real and coming out at you.

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I was surprised to see the doors not only had beautiful paintings, but some are even traditional Chinese paintings.

I was very surprised to see how these wood smiths were able to paint such beautiful paintings so high up. It's impressive to see the knowledge and skills of the artists dating back as far as 700 years ago.

Below are some more detailed photos of the courtyard and it's door decorations:

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And that round's up our journey to the ancient Folk village courtyards of Guanzhong, I hope you enjoyed taking a look back at such beautiful architecture and Chinese art.
If you were decorating your own house, would you have intricate pretty paintings and stone engravings or do you prefer simple designs?