Ruins of the Ancient Zhelimu League Site

Ancient Zhelimu League Site

The Ancient Zhelimu League Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

Ancient Zhelimu League Site

The Zhelimu League Site is situated within the territory of Tulemaodu Town, nestled behind Zhelimu Mountain and facing the Holin River, with Qitunhan Mountain to the west and Hanchagan Mountain to the east at its core. It served as a crucial passage from the valleys of Jalut, Bairin, and Baren Zhelimu, through today’s Holinhe Coal Mine to the Xilingol Grassland. It also connected from the Zhun Zhelimu Valley through Keyouqianqi to Bogda Mountain bordering Mongolia, and from the Agui Valley via Liuhu to Ulanhot and the Nenjiang River. Stretching southward along the Holin River through Bayanhot to Tongliao and other areas in a “Five Forks Gully” formation, it functioned as a military strategic stronghold and a hub for goods distribution.

Historical records indicate that this site was an important pass during the Liao and Jin dynasties. Remnants of the Jin Dynasty’s Great Wall and the garrison headquarters of the Jin Northeast Route Pacification Commissioner’s Office are still clearly visible. To the west of the league site lies the territory of the Liao Linhuang Prefecture, while to the east it was under the jurisdiction of the Jin Taizhou.

In the 49th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1710), an administrative league was established over nearly 400,000 square kilometers of Mongolian territory. This area spanned from Baogeta Mountain in the north to the Willow Palisade north of Shenyang in the south, from Teghan Mountain in the west to Harbin and Changchun in the east, encompassing the 4 tribes and 10 banners of the Horqin in Nenjiang: Tüsheet Khan, Jasaichin Khan, Sööd Gün, Jalaid, Dörbed, Darhan, Bodoleggutai, Bintu, Huree Gorlos, and Ulaanhot Gorlos. Because the first league assembly was held at the foot of Zhelimu Mountain in the northern part of the Tüsheet Banner, it came to be known as the Zhelimu League. A symbolic ovoo (stone cairn) was erected here — one large central ovoo with a base diameter of about 5 meters and a height of over 6 meters representing the league, surrounded by 10 smaller ovoos forming a large circle representing the 10 banners, each small ovoo having a base diameter of nearly 2 meters. The large ovoo and each small ovoo were spaced approximately 30 meters apart, as were the small ovoos from each other. Every three years during the league gathering, the jasag (banner lords) of each banner would review mounted troops, handle legal cases, discuss and elect leaders, hold Naadam festivals, and engage in trade and material exchanges. Qing officials were also dispatched to attend and oversee the events.

The reason the league site was established in Tüsheet Banner was due to the banner’s historical significance and strategic geographic location. Although situated at the northwest corner of the Zhelimu League, since the Liao and Jin periods, it had been a key transportation hub and military stronghold. The historical status of Tüsheet Banner itself laid a solid foundation for it becoming the meeting place of the 10 banners. In the 3rd year of the Ming Jiajing era (1524), Kui Mengke Taisiha, the 14th-generation descendant of Genghis Khan’s younger brother Hasar, led his people eastward to settle in the Nenjiang River basin to escape warfare. After several battles and truces with the rising Later Jin, they gradually formed a political alliance through marriage ties, coexisting with the Later Jin as the state of Horqin. The leader of the Horqin tribe was Oba, also known as Tusheet Khan. During the establishment of the Qing regime, the Horqin tribe rendered outstanding service. In the 1st year of the Chongde era (1636), the Qing court granted Oba’s son Badar the title of Prince of the First Rank of Tüsheet, stripped of the khan title, ranking him first among the 49 Mongolian banners and nobles of Inner Mongolia, hence the name Tüsheet Banner. Therefore, when the administrative league system was set up for the 4 tribes and 10 banners of the Horqin Mongolian territory, it was only natural that the league site was chosen in Tüsheet Banner.