Qingtian Stone Carving Museum

Located in Qingtian County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, the Qingtian Stone Carving Museum serves as a hub for Qingtian stone culture and encapsulates the county's 6,000-year history of stone carving. "Stone as beautiful as jade, Qingtian reigns supreme. Sculpting according to the material, human skill surpasses nature's creation." Qingtian's renown stems from its brilliant stone carving culture, earning it the title of "Hometown of Stone Carving." As early as the Songze Culture period, people began to recognize and utilize Qingtian stone, as evidenced by the "Qingtian Huang" artifact unearthed from a brick kiln in Qianjin Town, Huzhou City. The stone's warm texture, elegant colors, suitable brittleness and softness, and diverse varieties have captivated artists, making it a treasured material. Since the late Yuan Dynasty, when the renowned painter and poet Wang Mian pioneered the use of Qingtian stone for seal carving, Qingtian seal stones have graced the studies of scholars and even the desks of emperors and high-ranking officials. In 1790, two sets of seal buttons, "Baodian Fushu" and "Yuanzhang Shoudie," crafted from Qingtian Dengguang Dong stone, were presented as tributes to the 80-year-old Qianlong Emperor, marking the beginning of stone seals entering the Forbidden City. In 2001, Qingtian stone, along with Shoushan stone, Changhua stone, and Balin stone, were recognized as the four most famous stones in China. Qingtian stone also became the first to obtain a national origin certification trademark for stone carving. Qingtian · Lishui