Balin Right Banner Folk Museum

Balin Right Banner Folk Museum

The Balin Right Banner Folk Museum is situated within the Kangxi Temporary Palace, an ancient Qing Dynasty architectural complex on the north side of the eastern section of Daban Street in Daban Town. With a total floor space of 4,700 square meters, of which 1,400 square meters are dedicated to exhibitions, the museum was initiated in 2003 by Na Enhe, former director of the Banner People's Congress Standing Committee. In 2005, the local government funded the collection of artifacts, and the museum officially opened in June 2006. In May 2011, it was formally approved by the Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Bureau as the first county-level state-owned folk museum in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region focused on Mongolian folk cultural relics. In October 2014, it was designated as a 2A-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration. Since 2006, it has offered free admission all day, receiving an average of 20,000 visitors per year.

Currently, the museum houses a collection of over 2,000 artifacts (sets). After expert appraisal, 51 artifacts (sets) have been identified as precious cultural relics, including 14 national second-grade relics (sets) and 37 third-grade relics (sets).

Centered on Balin folklore, the museum presents a condensed history of ecological changes and the development of grassland civilization in Balin Right Banner. It covers topics such as the 300-year evolution of Balin Right Banner, agriculture and animal husbandry, nomadic customs, religious beliefs, and the literary heritage of Balin, offering a vivid and distinctive portrayal of the region. It stands as an important symbol of the area’s economic, social development, and cultural sophistication.

In recent years, Balin Right Banner has actively worked on the rescue and protection of cultural relics and promoted rapid development of the cultural industry. Currently, the Banner has nine intangible cultural heritage projects at the autonomous region level, with three inheritors; 15 municipal-level projects in Chifeng City, with 15 inheritors; and 44 banner-level projects, with 49 inheritors. In 2014, "Gesar" was included in the national list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects.

Further reading:

· China's National Third-Class Museum