Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum

Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum

The Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum serves as a patriotic education base.

The Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum is a distinctive regional ethnic and folk-themed museum in China, listed as a key cultural infrastructure project under Jilin Province’s provincial-level cultural heritage protection units. The museum covers a land area of 11,777 square meters, with a building area of 5,818 square meters. Construction began on July 8, 2006, and it officially opened to the public on June 16, 2009. The museum houses detailed historical documents and a rich collection of cultural relics. Its exhibition content is divided into six sections: the Famous Chinese Mountain — Changbai Mountain, the Manchu People’s Worship of Changbai Mountain as a Sacred Site, the Historical Origins of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, the Production Customs of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, the Daily Life Customs of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, and the Cultural Arts of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain. Through diverse exhibition methods, the museum strives to depict the splendid culture created by the wisdom and hard work of the Manchu ancestors. The Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum has become an educational base in Baishan City that integrates research on ethnic history and culture, education for ethnic unity and progress, and patriotic education. Its completion marks a new stage in the research of Changbai Mountain culture and plays an important role in defining Changbai Mountain culture, promoting Changbai Mountain tourism, and enhancing the city’s cultural functions.

Address: No. 777 Jiangbei Street, Baishan City, Jilin Province (Bus Route 15)

Postal Code: 134300

Services: Free Admission

Director: Gu? (Museum Director)

Opening Hours: Wednesdays to Sundays, 9:00–11:00 and 14:00–16:00

Service Phone: 0439-3381359

Historical Background of the Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum

The Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum in Baishan City is a distinctive regional ethnic and folk-themed museum in China, listed as a key cultural infrastructure project under provincial-level cultural heritage protection units. Its completion marks a new stage in the research of Changbai Mountain culture and plays an important role in refining the cultural positioning of Changbai Mountain, promoting its tourism, and enhancing urban cultural functions. The museum is located in the new urban area on the north bank of the Hun River in Baishan City, covering a land area of 11,777 square meters and a building area of 5,818 square meters, with a total construction investment of 36.3 million yuan. Construction began on July 8, 2006, with the main structure completed the same year. Exhibition projects commenced in July 2007, and construction was completed by October 2008, entering a trial operation phase. The museum officially opened on June 16, 2009.

“Baishan has ancient origins, and Heishui traces back to distant times.” Since ancient times, the Manchu people and their ancestors have lived and thrived between the Baishan Mountains and Heishui Rivers, forming an inseparable bond with Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain is the homeland of the Manchu people and the cradle of their culture. The Manchu people regard Changbai Mountain as a sacred place of origin, associating their national roots and the rise of their golden age with the mountain. They venerate Changbai Mountain as a deity, integrating its worship with ancestral rites, paying homage seasonally. Throughout their tumultuous history, the Manchu people, along with other ethnic groups, coexisted through struggles and merged through endeavors, together composing magnificent chapters of the Eastern towering mountains and blending into the ever-thriving Chinese nation. The museum unfolds along both vertical and horizontal lines, showcasing not only the 3,000-year historical span of the Manchu people but also their production and daily life customs. It considers both the completeness of the exhibition narrative and the distinctive characteristics of the Manchu people in the Changbai Mountain region. It draws on local literature from Baishan while also encompassing the entire Changbai Mountain area. With detailed historical materials and a rich collection of cultural relics, the museum’s exhibitions are divided into six parts: the Famous Chinese Mountain — Changbai Mountain, the Manchu People’s Worship of Changbai Mountain as a Sacred Site, the Historical Origins of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, the Production Customs of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, the Daily Life Customs of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain, and the Cultural Arts of the Manchu People in Changbai Mountain. Through diverse exhibition methods, the museum depicts the splendid culture created by the wisdom and hard work of the Manchu ancestors. In addition, the museum has a dedicated special products exhibition area, centrally displaying characteristic products of the Baishan region, which also helps promote the “Baishan business card” to some extent.

With the continuous development of public cultural initiatives, the Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum has become a window for external publicity, exchange, and openness for Baishan City. Guided by the principles of serving society and maintaining an open approach to management, the museum strives to provide civic education in humanities and history, carrying out a wide range of specialized research and academic exchanges in fields such as ethnology, folklore, ethnic history, and ethnic museology. The museum currently holds a collection of 6,297 items, including two first-grade cultural relics, one second-grade relic, and 24 third-grade relics. It has a daily reception capacity of over 4,000 visitors and has been designated as a National Third-Grade Museum, a Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Unit for Spiritual Civilization, a Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Unit Youth Science Popularization Base, and a Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Unit Patriotic Education Base.

The Changbai Mountain Manchu Culture Museum has become an educational base that integrates research on ethnic history and culture, education for ethnic unity and progress, and patriotic education. It plays an active role in disseminating the unique ethnic and regional culture of Baishan and advancing the construction of material, political, and spiritual civilization with Chinese characteristics.

Source: Department of Culture and Tourism of Jilin Province

Further Reading:

· National Second-Grade Museum of China