Aihui History Exhibition Hall

Aihui History Exhibition Hall

The Aihui History Exhibition Hall is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a patriotism education base.

Aihui is world-famous for the Treaty of Aigun, and the Aihui History Exhibition Hall also draws much attention due to this treaty. The exhibition hall records the evolution of China-Russia relations.

The Aihui History Exhibition Hall was first built in June 1975 and completed & opened to the public in September of the same year. Initially, it was named the “Aihui Anti-Revisionism Exhibition Hall.” In July 1979, the exhibition content was adjusted and the venue was renamed the “Aihui History Exhibition Hall.”

Over the more than 20 years since its establishment, the Aihui History Exhibition Hall has received 1.92 million visitors from China and abroad, including 34 party and state leaders, over 400 provincial/ministerial-level officials, 10,000 international friends and overseas Chinese, with guests from 49 countries having visited. It has played an important role in patriotism and national defense education, and has been highly valued by leaders at the central, provincial, and municipal levels. In 1994, it was designated as a provincial-level patriotism education base; in 1997, it became a provincial-level national defense education base and one of the first hundred national patriotism demonstration education bases. After Heihe was approved as a border open city by the State Council in 1992, the Aihui History Exhibition Hall has become one of the most important tourist attractions in Heihe City.

Given that the original exhibition hall was small in area, had outdated display methods, and was the worst-equipped among similar national-level demonstration bases, at the end of 1999, the municipal Party committee and government decided to renovate and expand the Aihui History Exhibition Hall.

The renovated and expanded Aihui History Exhibition Hall covers an area of 100,000 square meters and is divided into eight functional zones of varying sizes: the Gate Scenic Area, Historical Exhibition Area, Inscription Stele Forest Area, General’s Office Area, Folk Custom Area, Riverside Recreation Area, Management Area, and Commercial Service Area, along with appropriately arranged gardens, green spaces, and sculptures. The entire project is planned to be completed in three years.

The construction of the new Aihui History Exhibition Hall officially began on September 2, 2000. Currently, the main exhibition hall building has been completed as scheduled. The design of the hall integrates square and circular forms—the main building is round on the right and square on the left, symbolizing territorial integrity. However, a large triangle splits it in two, with the circular section cut by a wall-like division, symbolizing how the unequal Treaty of Aigun led to Russia seizing over 600,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory. One side of the triangle points to the Witness Pine, while the other points to the Kuixing Pavilion.

On the left side of the main hall entrance is a creative wall with a 210-square-meter large copper relief titled “The Beautiful and Fertile Heilongjiang.” On the right are five wind walls, each hanging 1,858 wind chimes of various sizes that tinkle in the breeze—symbolizing the unequal Treaty of Aigun signed in 1858.

Walking past the wind chime wall, you’ll ascend a 50-meter-wide, 6-meter-high staircase. Beside the staircase, in a small plaza, an abstract pair of a mother’s large hands holds up a globe with one finger missing—symbolizing how nearly one-tenth of China’s over 10 million square kilometers of territory was lost.

Upon entering the exhibition hall, you first see the prelude hall, which reflects the core theme of the Aihui History Exhibition Hall. The main displays are divided into five sections:

The first section, “The Heilongjiang River: The Mother River of Northern China’s Ethnic Groups,” illustrates how since ancient times, the Heilongjiang River basin—with its long history and numerous tributaries—has nurtured the outstanding descendants of ancient northern Chinese ethnic groups. On the vast, fertile lands of the Heilongjiang basin, these groups worked, lived, and thrived for generations, together creating the splendid culture and glorious history of the Chinese nation alongside their inland kin.

The second section, “The Heilongjiang Basin in the 17th Century and the Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk,” describes how starting in the 1640s, during Qing rule, the Mongolian, Ewenki, Daur, Oroqen, Manchu, Hezhen, and Fuyu ethnic groups in the Heilongjiang basin suffered severe harassment from Tsarist Russian Cossacks. To safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Qing government organized the Battle of Yaksa and, through diplomatic negotiations, the two nations signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

The third section, “The Heilongjiang Basin from the Late 17th Century to the Mid-19th Century,” explains that after the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk, the Qing government implemented various measures to strengthen management over the vast territories south of the Outer Khingan Range and north of the Heilongjiang River. During about a century and a half of peaceful conditions, the socio-economic development of the Heilongjiang basin stabilized, and Aihui grew into a central city in the middle and upper reaches of the Heilongjiang.

The fourth section, “The Heilongjiang River in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Sino-Russian Treaty of Aigun,” details how in the latter half of the 19th century, as the Qing Empire declined and faced internal and external crises, it could no longer defend itself against renewed invasions by Tsarist Russia into the Heilongjiang basin. In 1858, under military threats from Nikolay Muravyov, Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, the Heilongjiang General Yishan was forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Aigun, ceding territory and sovereignty.

The fifth section, “The ‘Gengzi Russian Disaster’ and the ‘Rebuilding of Aihui,’” explains that after the Treaty of Aigun took effect, trade between China and Russia flourished along both sides of the Heilongjiang. The Sixty-Four Villages East of the River remained under Chinese jurisdiction. In 1900, when the anti-imperialist Boxer Rebellion broke out, Russia used the opportunity to invade Northeast China, committing the world-shocking “Blagoveshchensk Massacre” and “Sixty-Four Villages East of the River Massacre,” and burning down Heihe and Aihui.

The most eye-catching exhibit in the exhibition is the semi-panoramic painting “The Blagoveshchensk Massacre,” which is 76 meters long and 19 meters wide, providing a powerful visual and emotional impact. It is the first such panoramic art installation in Heilongjiang Province and the fifth in China.

The hall also features two realistic sculpture scenes depicting the Treaty of Aigun and the Treaty of Nerchinsk, vividly recreating historical events. The scene of the Treaty of Aigun portrays the destruction of Aihui City in 1900 and the indomitable resistance of its people.

The special exhibition “Friendship for Generations, Never Enemies” is an extension of the Aihui History Exhibition Hall. After visiting the main exhibition, guests can proceed to this hall. It showcases the friendly exchanges between China and Russia from ancient times to the present, especially the political, economic, and military cooperation since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee.

After viewing the exhibitions, visitors ascending the staircase outside the semi-panoramic hall to the rooftop can overlook the surging waters of the ten-mile Heilongjiang, gaze at the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River, and view the Kuixing Pavilion and Witness Pine. In summer, you can enjoy the lush greenery, birdsong, and serene surroundings; in winter, you can experience the vast snowy landscapes of the north…

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China