Yitong Manchu Museum

The Yitong Manchu Museum and the Jilin City Manchu Museum are open to the public free of charge, with opening hours from 9:00 to 16:00.

The Yitong Manchu Museum is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Yitong Manchu Museum is a museum that showcases the history and folk culture of the Manchu people. It was originally established as the Yitong Manchu Folk Museum in 1987, and was rebuilt as the Yitong Manchu Museum in 2002. In 2008, it was designated by the China Nationalities Museum as the Yitong Manchu Branch of the China Nationalities Museum. It is a national 4A-level tourist site.

The new building of the Yitong Manchu Museum has six exhibition halls (covering 2,000 square meters), displaying content divided into seven sections: the origins of the Manchu, production, daily life, culture, etiquette, beliefs, and the past and present of Yitong. The museum mainly exhibits Manchu cultural relics passed down through generations, supplemented by photos, charts, and models. The relic displays are arranged in large display cases and are enclosed. Lighting is provided by spotlights, and the exhibition halls are equipped with ventilation, moisture-proofing, light-shielding, anti-theft, fire protection, and security facilities. Since the opening of the new building, the Yitong Manchu Museum has received praise from all sectors of society, as well as strong recognition from experts, scholars, and leaders at all levels. It is considered a rare county-level museum in China in terms of the comprehensiveness of its Manchu relic collection, the large number of relics, and the scale of its exhibition halls. In 2007, it was designated as an “Ethnic Unity and Progress Education Base” by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission; in April 2008, it was recognized as a 4A-level tourist site by the National Tourism Administration; and on October 16, 2008, it was designated as the Yitong Manchu Branch of the China Nationalities Museum by the China Nationalities Museum.

Since the establishment of the Yitong Manchu Branch, it has made active contributions to the economic and cultural development of our county and achieved significant social benefits. Due to the creation and growth of the museum, its influence has expanded continuously, becoming a window for promoting Yitong and the Manchu people. It serves as a learning ground and classroom for cadres, the public, and students to study the history and culture of the Manchu. Over the past 25 years, it has received over 600,000 visitors from all walks of life and overseas guests.

The museum also serves as a base for patriotic education and academic research on Manchu culture. With the development of the museum, party committees, governments, and educational institutions at all levels have placed greater emphasis on its social functions. To date, it has been designated as a patriotic education base by the Jilin Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Government, Siping Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and the County Party Committee and County Government; as an academic base and Shamanism research base by the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences; as a Manchu cultural research base by Jilin Normal University and a teaching and research base for Shaman culture by Changchun Normal University, as well as a Manchu cultural research base by the Jilin Provincial Institute of Ethnic Studies. Currently, eight organizations have set up their bases here and begun operations. The museum has also successfully hosted the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences Symposium on Manchu Culture; the Sixth National Lao She Academic Symposium; and co-hosted the Seventh International Symposium on Shamanism. In addition, it has welcomed scholars and experts from over 30 countries and regions, including Russia, the United States, Japan, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, to study the history and culture of the Manchu.

To fully leverage its functions, the museum has collaborated with the County Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the County Culture and Sports Bureau, the County Archives Bureau, the County Post and Telecommunications Bureau, and other units to jointly host exhibitions such as calligraphy and fine arts collections, Chairman Mao’s literature collections, philatelic collections, and ancient coin collections. It has also worked with the Yitong Volcanic Group National Nature Reserve Administration to establish the Yitong Volcanic Group Exhibition Hall. This has not only spread knowledge of Manchu culture but also broadened the scope of work, promoted the spirit of collaborative museum management, and contributed to cultural development.

To promote the history and culture of the Manchu, improve the standards of museum work, and summarize research findings on Manchu history and culture, the museum has integrated internal and external resources, expanded the dissemination of Manchu culture, increased the museum’s influence, and enhanced the visibility of Yitong. It has jointly compiled *Illustrated Records of Chinese Manchu Customs* with the Jilin Provincial Press and Publication Bureau and the Jilin Provincial Institute of Ethnic Studies, co-produced the *Yitong Manchu Museum Promotional Video* with Siping TV Station, and worked with the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences to produce the electronic publication *Shaman Tour*.

The Yitong Manchu Museum covers an area of 12,000 square meters, with a construction area of 5,800 square meters, and houses a collection of 630 types of cultural relics totaling more than 5,000 items. The museum’s exhibits are divided into seven exhibition halls: the origins of the Manchu, production, daily life, culture, etiquette, beliefs, and the past and present of Yitong. Each cultural relic on display presents a vivid tapestry of Manchu historical charm; each story behind the relics depicts the colorful life and splendid culture created by the ancestors of the Manchu with wisdom and hard work.

Today, the Yitong Manchu Museum has become a national education base for ethnic unity and progress, a patriotic education base for provincial, municipal, and county party committees and governments, and an academic and Shaman cultural research base for multiple scientific research institutions and universities.

Further reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China