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2019 - Luyeyuan Stone Sculpture Art Museum

Project Type

Photo Essay

Date

January, 2019

Location

Chengdu, China

Architect

LIU Jiakun / Jiakun Architects

In Chengdu’s outskirts lies the Duleyuan Museum, a sanctuary for Buddhist stone carvings from the Southwest Silk Road. Named after India’s Deer Park (Sarnath), where legend holds that Buddha first taught, this museum mirrors that spirit, protecting sacred relics in quiet seclusion.

Duleyuan, designed by architect Liu Jiakun in the early 2000s, is a milestone in China’s modern architecture, notable for its thoughtful integration with the landscape. Liu preserved every tree on site, letting native plants define the building’s organic layout—a pioneering environmental gesture for its time.

Inspired by Scarpa, the museum’s pathways gently guide visitors while retaining an openness that invites lingering. Stone slabs lead into a bamboo grove, and a long walkway bridges over a pond to the museum’s entrance. Inside, natural light subtly illuminates the statues, drawing one into a quiet communion with each figure. The journey loops back, leading to a spring and finally returning to the garden entrance, a fluid choreography of movement and reflection.

Though it appears as monolithic concrete, the structure is ingeniously brick-built with timber forms, a decision made to overcome local technical limitations. For some, this façade may be deceptive, but to me, it reflects an architectural authenticity rooted in pragmatism, honouring the craftsmanship of local builders.

Twenty years since its construction, Duleyuan is now entwined with lush vegetation, its understated presence undisturbed by the crowds that fill more popular sites. For me, Chengdu is Duleyuan, and Duleyuan is Chengdu—a cityscape distilled into a single, contemplative refuge.

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