The Wei Jin Tombs (魏晋墓) are a group of painted brick burial chambers about 18 kilometres east of Jiayuguan, dating from the Wei and Jin dynasties (3rd to 5th centuries CE). The murals inside depict scenes of daily life from the period with an informality and detail unusual for Chinese tomb art of the era: farmers irrigating fields, hunters pursuing game, a family eating a meal, musicians performing. The images are small and close-up — painted on individual bricks used to build the tomb walls — which gives them an intimate quality very different from the large-scale wall paintings of the Buddhist cave sites.
Only one tomb is open at a time to control visitor numbers and preserve the paintings. The interior requires crouching through a low entrance passage. The Museum of the Wei Jin Tombs at the site entrance has replicas of the painted bricks in natural light, which makes the subjects easier to read; the originals inside the tomb are better for the atmosphere of being in a 1,700-year-old sealed chamber. Allow about two hours for the visit including the museum.