Tuesday 23 July 2019

Miniature Wonders Art Gallery (Life In Ancient China), Ipoh.

From the Concubine Lane, we walked over to the next road to the Miniature Wonders Art Gallery. The moment we entered, we were greeted with a vast display of miniature figurines. We were told that the figurines were made from flour. They are all beautifully decorated and painted to resemble the traditional Chinese people in ancient China.
The miniature figurines are all placed in glass casings and they are arranged in such a way to show the everyday life, traditional culture, and history of the Chinese people. The exhibits on the ground floor is free for viewing. In this post, I will share some of the exhibits on the ground floor before moving on to the 2nd floor in the next post. I apologize for the reflection in some of the photos.
 Chinese History - Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) was established by Mongolian Genghis Khan.
 The Mongolian Royal Banquet
 Wrestling between soldiers during the feast showed the bold and heroic nature of the Mongolian.
Genghis Khan at the Horse Banquet.
The yurts (circular tents) were built on the grassland.
Everyone was seated on the ground with small food table in front of them. Beef and mutton were eaten in big pieces.
 The Sycee Bridge
Built in Ming Dynasty. Located on the Chichahai which connects the Qianhai (Front lake) and Houhai (Rear lake). "Viewing mountains on the Sycee Bridge" has been listed as one of the Eight Scenery of Yanjing (Beijing).
 Busker / Playing Long Handled Broadsword
Buskers make a living by performing variety show, martial art, cross talk and etc. Some of the popular performances are with broad swords, spears, and breaking of big stone on their chest.
 Selling Tanghulu
Tanghulu is a type of sugarcoated haws on a stick (red arrow). According to an old folklore, a concubine of the Emperor (Song Dynasty) was healed of her illness by eating hawthorns fried with black sugar as suggested by the doctor. The Tanghulu were arranged on bamboo sticks with the bigger ones on the top. It is a favourite among children and the tradition is kept alive until today. 
 Grog Shop
Mostly patronized by laborers, coming together to relax after a hard day's work. Chatting over some alcoholic drinks and cheap snacks such as peanuts, shred of salty vegetables and pig's head meat. 
 Grain Shop
Grain shop sells rice, millet, beans, corns, vermicelli and etc.
 Noodle Shop / Breakfast Shop
The varieties sold consist of bean curd jelly, deep fried dough sticks and cakes, steamed stuffed buns, millet congee, noodles, drinks, etc.  
 Tramcar
Tramcar built by Siemens Co. emerged in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. The tramcars were equipped with carpet, electric fans and rattan seats.
 Toilet
The toilets in the old days are usually with four clay or brick walls with thatched roof. The men and women toilets are only separated by thatched wall. Some of these simple toilets still exist in many remote areas. 
 Wrestling
This sport "jueli" may be traced back to Qin Dynasty. It was called "xiangpu" (sumo) in Tang Dynasty. It was a popular competitive sport and training for royal martial competition and army in the ancient time. Later wrestlers make a living performing in street competitions.
Cart Driving
Horse cart has a long history in China and the carts were made by the officials and nobles to serve them and their families. 
 Qing was the last imperial dynasty of China.
 Qing Royal Banquet.
 Chinese Song Dynasty ( 960-1279)
A period of development for economy, culture, science, technology and science. 
 Song Palace Banquet
 Chinese style gazebo and musicians
 View of the stone bridge.
From here, we paid RM 5 to view the exhibits on the next level.
And that will need to be shared in another post. 


You may know that there is nothing wrong with what you do,
even from God's point of view, but keep it to yourself;
don't flaunt your faith in front of others who might be hurt by it.
In this situation, happy is the man who does not sin
by doing what he knows is right.
(Romans 14:22, The Living Bible-TLB)

48 comments:

  1. Wow!!! These are all amazing, and there is so much detail!! The creators are so talented! I wonder how many people made these, and how long it took them? Totally incredible! My favorites are the Yurt scene, cart driving, and Qing.

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    1. We were told that the figurines were made in China.

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  2. Super interesting. I love Chinese ancient stories and Chinese history.

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    1. Chinese has very interesting history and many ancient stories.

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  3. Wow! Amazing. I like the mongolian ones the best such as the yurts.

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  4. The qing royal banquet looks so grand, just like in the drama show. I saw tanghulu in beijing before. Wow! They already had tramcar during the qing dynasty.

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    1. If I didn't see the tramcar, I wouldn't know about it.

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  5. so tiny, pretty and cute! thanks for sharing!

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  6. wow, figurines made from flour and so many figurines. They must have delicate fingers and great patience!

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    1. It would be interesting to see the craft men or women at work making these figurines.

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  7. How interesting! Those miniatures are so intricate and detailed!

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    1. Thank you, PH. Too delicate for my clumsy hands.

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  8. Oh my, I was amazed with all of the miniature figurines. I loved this. Thanks Nancy.


    Cruisin Paul

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  9. Me han encantado. Besitos.

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  10. Beautiful. I would have loved to see this in person and then take you and hubby out to lunch or dinner.

    Thank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Happy Tuesday, Nancy. ♥

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    1. Thank you, Sandee and for the lunch too!
      Happy day!

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  11. ...what a beautiful miniature collection, the work that went into creating these is amazing. I was in a museum over the weekend and I found it so difficult to photograph with the spotlights and glass. Nancy you pictures are wonderful and I thank you for sharing them.

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  12. Interesting! Are the figurines made by local people or are they part of an exhibition from China?

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    1. I was told the figurines were brought over from China.

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  13. I would enjoy looking at the miniature. I started to develop interest in them when my dad bought some miniature cockery from KL many years ago. So cute.

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    1. I would want to learn to make these figurines, if there is someone to show how...

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  14. Wow! Your post truly transport us do different era or lifestyle of ancient China! Loved the miniature setting which looks realistic and your photography captured it in true essence. Great skill u have in shooting

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    1. Thank you, Jeevan. Its a pleasure to share.

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  15. Amazing photos. It must have been quite hard living in those times. Take care Diane

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    1. Those day may be simpler but very much harder than what we are having today.

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  16. Wow, I like these, they are so damn cute

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  17. These are absolutely wonderful. I cannot imagine doing them.

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    1. Thank you, Rose. Needs lots of patience and delicate fingers.

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  18. dear Nancy how can i thank you enough for this remarkable post

    you dragged me to the world i wanted to peek in with all my heart since i watched MARCO POLO on netflix

    china 's life ancient life style is so FASCINATING
    i wish i can visit there some day

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    1. I am sure you will love to see the real China.

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