Youjiang Ethnic Museum

Youjiang Ethnic Museum

Established in 1985, the Youjiang Ethnic Museum is located atop Houlong Mountain in Baise City, Guangxi. The museum covers a construction area of 4,261.8 square meters. Its main building adopts the classical Zhuang-style corridor courtyard with double-eaved roofs, showcasing a distinctive ethnic architectural style. The museum houses a large collection of historical relics from various ethnic minorities and features eight exhibition halls, with an exhibition area of 1,507 square meters and over 400 sets of exhibits. In December 2001, with the approval of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Party Committee and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, it was designated as a Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Patriotic Education Base.

The “Exhibition on the History and Culture of Ethnic Minorities” and the “Exhibition on Ethnic and Folk Culture” are the two major displays at the Youjiang Ethnic Museum. The history and culture exhibition mainly presents the local history of Baise from 800,000 years ago to the modern era, reflecting the development of civilization in Baise since ancient times.

Stone chopping tools, cores, flakes, and pointed implements from the Paleolithic Age displayed in the museum reflect traces of how our ancestors lived on this land. The hand axe, the first type of bifacially worked heavy tool in prehistoric times, demonstrates human behavioral capabilities and primitive technological levels, marking a symbol of prehistoric culture. Research jointly conducted by Chinese and American experts determined it to be 800,000 years old. This finding pushed back the age of stone artifacts unearthed in Asia by hundreds of thousands of years, changing the previous notion that “human evolution in Asia lagged far behind that in Africa and Europe.” The “Baise Hand Axe” reshaped understanding of Asian civilization, and its research achievements were ranked among China's Top Ten Science News Stories in Basic Research for the year 2000 by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

Transportation Guide

Address: No. 12, Houlong Mountain, Chengdong Road, Baise City

Getting There: Take a bus within Baise City to reach the museum

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China