A small but important tomb just north of Xi'an, discovered during construction in 2000. An Jia was a senior official in the Northern Zhou administration responsible for foreign merchants — a Sogdian, that is, an Iranian-speaking trader from Central Asia. His tomb chamber is decorated with eleven stone relief panels showing the world he came from: Zoroastrian fire altars, hunting scenes on horseback, banquets in Sasanian-style pavilions, the deceased and his wife reclining together. The panels are now displayed at the Shaanxi History Museum, but the tomb site itself is preserved as a small museum on the original spot. A specialist visit, but unique.
Tomb of An Jia
6th-century Sogdian merchant's tomb with carved relief panels