Wuhai Museum

Wuhai Museum

Wuhai Museum was established and officially opened to the public on September 23, 2004. It was designated as a National Third-Class Museum on September 18, 2018. In mid-June 2008, in accordance with the unified planning of the municipal Party committee and government, it was temporarily relocated to the second floor of the City Science and Technology Museum in Binhe District. The exhibition area covers 1,000 square meters, and the cultural relics storage area spans 200 square meters. Wuhai Museum combines historically significant local cultural relics with a wealth of charts illustrating geological evolution. Through a dynamic, bead-string-like exhibition layout, it vividly and authentically narrates the geological changes, historical development, and folk culture of the Wuhai region. It is a comprehensive museum integrating cultural relics collection, preservation, exhibition, social education, and cultural exchange. Currently, the museum houses over 6,000 cultural relics (sets), with more than 200 premium pieces (sets) on display, including 103 national-level relics (sets).

Wuhai Museum organizes its exhibitions into three units based on a chronological timeline, with each part recounting the historical transformations and cultural accumulations of the Wuhai region during specific periods. The very first exhibit of the entire show—and one of the most eye-catching—is a massive, ancient petrified tree. Having weathered over 250 million years of earth-shaking change, its still-visible growth rings tell untold stories of this land, guiding visitors into the first unit: “Life’s Evolution Across Eons.”

The Wuhai region was once part of the 3.6-billion-year-old Ordos ancient continent, formed from the submersion zone of the ancient Mediterranean Sea and uplifted during the third Himalayan orogeny. Through eons of transformation, it gradually developed its current fundamental topographical features: “three mountains, two valleys, and one river.” Fossils of ancient marine organisms excavated across Wuhai confirm that the area was indeed once covered by sea. As early as the Paleozoic era, vast communities of marine invertebrates thrived in these boundless waters. Fossils on display at the museum—including trilobites, graptolites, cephalopods, and gastropods—not only reflect the evolutionary journey of primitive life but also serve as clear evidence of the region’s ancient connection to Europe, the Gansu-Qinghai-Tibet sea areas, and the blending of biological lifeforms. By the late Paleozoic period, influenced by tectonic movements, the Wuhai area saw an interplay between sea and land, allowing plants to colonize the terrain and form a primordial forest dominated by gymnosperms and ferns. The plant fossils exhibited, such as those of Cladophlebis, showcase distinctly clear leaf veins, resembling nature’s diary etched into rock layers. It was also due to the lush vegetation and intense tectonic activity during this time that the region’s rich coal resources were formed. Through successive tectonic shifts, Wuhai gradually developed its undulating mountain ranges and flowing Yellow River landscapes. During the Cenozoic era, the area flourished with diverse vegetation and species, and mammals rapidly evolved. The exhibition highlights fossils such as those of Eumeryx, Paraceratherium, and Palaeoloxodon namadicus, painting a vibrant scene of thriving life. Among them, the centerpiece—replica skeleton of a Palaeoloxodon namadicus, dubbed a “internet celebrity”—has long been the museum’s star attraction. Countless locals and tourists visit specially to take photos with it; nearly every young visitor stops by, asking inquisitive questions about the magnificent creature. This replica skeleton, based on partial fossils (including molars, scapula, pelvis, and humerus) of a Palaeoloxodon namadicus unearthed in 1987 at Bainigou, Wuda District, Wuhai, has been reconstructed at a 1:1 scale. The completed skeleton measures 8.7 meters in length and 4.15 meters in height, with its massive form leaving a profound impression. The Palaeoloxodon namadicus was a significant prehistoric animal distributed across North China during the Late Pleistocene of the Quaternary Period, dating back 400,000 to 500,000 years. Its discovery further confirms that the Wuhai region once featured lush flora and a warm climate.

At the center of Wuhai Museum’s logo lies a uniquely styled totem resembling the sun but adorned with human facial features—an ancient and mysterious symbol that represents the cultural emblem of Wuhai’s tourism: the Sun God Petroglyph. The museum dedicates an entire unit to showcasing these records of ancient civilizations, titled with grandeur: “Desert Whispers: The Wordless Scriptures of Timeless Questions.”

From 10,000 to 4,000 years ago, during the Neolithic Age and nurtured by the Yellow River, the Wuhai region saw the emergence of early clan communities engaged in hunting, gathering, and primitive farming. Later, between 4,000 and 2,800 years ago, northern ethnic groups—the Qiang, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turks, and Tangut—who lived by nomadic and hunting lifestyles carved and painted a vast array of diverse and richly themed petroglyphs along the gentle slopes and rocky cliffs of the Yellow River tributaries, forming the Zhuozi Mountain Petroglyph Complex. This complex is the most representative historical relic in the Wuhai area, with the Zhaoshaogou Petroglyphs being the most renowned. The Zhaoshaogou Petroglyphs are cultural remnants of a primitive northern tribe from the Neolithic Age, featuring a total of 298 individual images, 90% of which are human face motifs. These motifs vary in form and content, rendered in a bold and archaic artistic style. The famous Sun God Petroglyph originates here. The museum exhibition hall uses an entire wall to display a large rubbing of the Zhaoshaogou Petroglyphs. The rubbing showcases a variety of content, predominantly human face images, many of which feature radiating spikes around the head resembling the sun. The largest and clearest of these—the symbol of Wuhai’s tourism culture—is named the Sun God Petroglyph. Spanning 145 cm by 125 cm, this image bears the deepest carving marks within the complex. With spikes encircling the head and finely detailed facial features including brows, eyes, nose, and mouth, it strikingly resembles the sun and carries deep symbolic meaning. To its left is a rectangular, four-panel petroglyph featuring a sun-like shape in each section, seemingly representing the four seasons through solar imagery—a unique concept that sparks endless imagination.

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Strategically located between mountains and rivers, the Wuhai region holds significant geographical importance. From the Xia and Shang dynasties to the Ming and Qing eras, it served as a borderland between the Central Plains dynasties and northern nomadic peoples. After unifying the Central Plains, Qin Shi Huang defeated the Xiongnu in the north and constructed the Great Wall along the terrain to block their southward advances. Step onto the Great Wall and enter the third unit of Wuhai Museum—“Purple Frontier Legends: The Timeless Historical Epic.”

During the Qin Dynasty, the Wuhai region was under the jurisdiction of the Beidi Commandery, and in the Han Dynasty, it belonged to the Shuofang Commandery. The Qin Great Wall passed through Wuhai, with eight major beacon towers, seven settlements, five Han-era tombs (including the Xindi, Bayintaohei, Hainan District Dongfeng, Sandaokan, and Sancun ancient tomb complexes), and one Xindi ancient city site. The Wuhai area became a crucial region for interactions between the Qin and Han dynasties and northern nomadic tribes like the Xiongnu. These ancient tombs and city ruins have yielded a wealth of relics such as pottery, bronze ware, and coins, providing valuable references for archaeological studies of the Qin and Han periods in Wuhai. On display in the museum’s premium exhibition cabinet is a Han Dynasty rope-patterned gray pottery jar excavated from the Xindi ancient city site. With a belly diameter of 89 cm and a height of 74 cm, it is a boldly shaped large gray clay vessel. The jar features a flat mouth with rolled rim, a constricted neck, sloping shoulders, and a bulging belly. The upper belly is decorated with one raised string pattern and three thick rope patterns, tapering downward toward a flat base. This artifact is a National Second-Class Cultural Relic.

From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty through the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Sixteen Kingdoms periods, northern nomadic minorities such as the Xiongnu and Xianbei mostly migrated south of the Great Wall and settled in the Yellow River basin. They engaged in prolonged warfare among themselves or with the Central Plains dynasties, resulting in extended turmoil. Located at a strategic frontier, the Wuhai region alternated between conflict and peaceful interaction during this time. During the Western Xia period, Wuhai lay within the northern boundary of Lingzhou and the Helan Mountain defense zone, successively confronting the Liao and Mongol empires. A renowned Western Xia general once stationed troops here. Nearly a thousand years of change have left his tomb damaged, with only half a broken stele recording his life achievements and a series of stone statues of civil and military officials standing along the tomb’s pathway. Reflecting the ancient belief in treating the dead as the living, these statues symbolize the general’s continued command over his troops and strategic vision in the afterlife. According to the inscription, the tomb owner was of noble lineage, active during the reigns of Western Xia Emperors Chongzong and Renzong. He was stationed in Wuhai, served as the supervising general of Heishan Weifu Army, and eventually rose to the rank of Chancellor. The inscriptions on this half-stele provide valuable material for archaeological research on the Western Xia period in Wuhai, holding significant historical value. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Wuhai region was governed under the Zhongxing Road of the Ningxia Provincial Administration. The museum’s collection includes a Yuan Dynasty flying apsara stone sculpture, a National First-Class Cultural Relic. With its plump, graceful form and serene expression, and featuring vividly carved lines, it stands as a masterpiece of the museum’s collection. The flying apsara originated in ancient India as manifestations of the Buddhist deities Gandharva and Kinnara. After Buddhism spread to China and merged with Taoist traditions, it evolved into the uniquely Chinese image of the flying apsara. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the rise of Mongolian tribes such as the Tatars and Oirats posed serious threats to the northern borders of the Ming Dynasty. Wuhai, situated at the frontier, saw the reinforcement of the Great Wall’s defenses. Liu Tianhe, the Three Borders Superintendent, constructed a border wall east of the Yellow River into Wuhai, known historically as the Taole Long Dyke. Approximately 39,391.1 meters of Ming Great Wall ruins remain in Wuhai today, along with seven beacon tower sites, among which the Hongdun Beacon Tower and Erdokan Beacon Tower retain clear outlines and good preservation. The Manba Lamasery in Wuhai, destroyed in 1966, began reconstruction in 2000. Today, parts of the Great Buddha’s Hall, Medicine Buddha Pagoda, side halls, and the memorial archway have been restored, along with the construction of mountain access roads and afforestation efforts, gradually reviving its spiritual activities. In 2012, the Manba Lamasery Tourist Area was rated as a National AAA-level scenic spot.

General Secretary Xi Jinping stated at the 19th National Congress: “Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. The prosperity of culture leads to the prosperity of the nation, and the strength of culture leads to the strength of the nation. Without a high degree of cultural confidence and the flourishing of culture, there can be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” As Wuhai’s historical narrator, cultural relic guardian, and provider of social education, Wuhai Museum shoulders the cultural development of the entire city. As a new generation of museum professionals, we must understand, shoulder, and fulfill our mission. By making full use of the exhibitions of our cultural relic collections, we aim to educate the public about the city’s cultural essence, bringing cultural relics truly “to life” and integrating them into everyday life. Cultural relics not only carry the splendid civilization of their locale across centuries but also represent the inheritance of urban history and culture—precious legacies left by our ancestors. Through thoughtful exhibition design, establishing connections between relics and weaving countless artifacts into the fabric of history is a mission the museum must never forget. Using exhibitions to promote historical culture, disseminate historical knowledge, pass on the philosophies accumulated over China’s 5,000-year history, and convey positive societal energy is the duty the museum must always remember.

Further Reading:

· China National Third-Class Museum