Kalaqin Prince's Mansion

Kalaqin Prince's Mansion

The Kalaqin Prince's Mansion is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Kalaqin Prince’s Mansion was first built in the 18th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1679) and has a history of over 300 years. It is the earliest built, largest in scale, highest in rank, and best-preserved Mongolian prince's mansion in Inner Mongolia. As a Qing-era Mongolian princely residence, it has been listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council. It is also a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and now houses the Museum of Qing Dynasty Mongolian Princes' Mansions in China, and is a national AAA-level scenic area.

Historical records indicate that the original mansion covered an area of over 130 mu, with more than 400 rooms. The overall architecture was grand and majestic, with a rigorous layout, massive system, and exquisite structure. There were five courtyards in total, with main buildings including the Grand Hall, Second Hall, Ceremony Hall, Main Hall, and Chengqing Tower. The central axis was symmetrical, flanked by wing courtyards on the east and west sides, which were further divided into several smaller quadrangle courtyards, all connected by ornate floral-pendant gates. The west courtyard served as a space for political activities and religious ceremonies, housing temples, ancestral halls, reception rooms, council halls, studies, and a martial arts training ground. The eastern side was the living area, featuring a theater, bedrooms for the prince and his wife (fujin), storage rooms, and kitchens. Behind the mansion was a garden built against the mountain in the style of a Beijing-style private garden. The garden contained eleven courtyards, 137 rooms, a shrine for the lord, a Horse King Hall, a Land God Shrine, as well as a theater, flower conservatory, and deer farm. Five uniquely shaped pavilions, three low-rail flat bridges, murmuring springs, and rockeries surrounded by layered stone formations created a scene reminiscent of a Jiangnan-style garden. In front of the mansion were nine ancient elm trees, and the square featured thirteen ovoo stones lined up in a row. Inside the mansion, the halls were adorned with colorful paintings, the towers were carved and decorated, the gardens were vibrant with flowers, and birch and cypress trees stood tall. The entire mansion exuded solemnity, elegance, and grandeur, reflecting the wealth and nobility of its owners.

After more than 300 years of vicissitudes, the east courtyard has completely disappeared, the west courtyard remains only partially, and the rear garden has long vanished, with only the main structures preserved. Since 1997, local governments have invested heavily in rescue and preservation efforts, restoring the original appearance of the central axis area and the east and west wing courtyards, as well as rebuilding structures such as screen walls and floral-pendant gates. The restored prince’s mansion now includes buildings such as the mansion gate, sedan chair hall, affairs office, council hall, Chengqing Tower, painting and calligraphy hall, greeting hall, study, and fujin’s living quarters. It also hosts major exhibitions such as the “Restoration Display of the Kalaqin Prince’s Mansion” and the “Historical Exhibition of Qing Dynasty Mongolian Princes’ Mansions in Inner Mongolia,” and has been hailed by cultural experts as China’s largest Mongolian princely mansion museum.

The Kalaqin Prince’s Mansion is the earliest built, largest in scale, highest in rank, and best-preserved princely residence in Inner Mongolia. It reflects regional characteristics and ethnic-religious features, represents the basic style of official Qing dynasty architecture, and holds significant historical, cultural, and scientific value. In 2001, it was listed as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council. Beyond the ancient architecture, the mansion also boasts wonders such as the ancient pines on the terrace — the Dragon and Phoenix Pines, with the one on the east being the Phoenix Pine and the one on the west the Dragon Pine. These naturally grown pines strikingly resemble their namesakes and have been listed among China’s “Remarkable Trees.”

The distant ancestors of the Kalaqin Banner princes were the meritorious subjects of Genghis Khan, namely Jebe (also known as Jirama) of the Uriankhai tribe. He made great contributions during Genghis Khan’s unification of Mongolia and even saved Genghis Khan’s life three times. Genghis Khan granted him immunity from punishment for nine crimes and appointed him as the ninth thousand-household leader (noyan). Because their fathers were close friends, Genghis Khan treated Jebe as a brother and married his daughter to Jebe’s son, Jibuge, who was given the title of “Tabunang,” meaning son-in-law. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the descendants of Jibuge, the son-in-law, were enfeoffed in the former Khitan region of Daying (modern-day Ningxia) and granted the title “Noyan,” with their tribe named “Kalaqin.” “Kalaqin” translates to “guardians” in Chinese.

Later, the lineage passed to the 14th generation descendant of Jebe, Subude, who led the Kalaqin tribe and submitted to Hong Taiji in the second year of the Tiancong era. With Subude’s help, Hong Taiji conquered the Southern Mongols, and the various Mongol tribes of the Zhaowuda League and Josutu League successively submitted to the Qing Dynasty. In the ninth year of the Tiancong era (1635), Subude’s son, Gulusiqi, was appointed as a Jasagh and became the first prince of the Kalaqin Right Wing Banner. The first and second princes resided in what is now Kazuo and Jianping in Liaoning, and it was not until the third prince, Bandarsha, that they moved to Longshan in the Kalaqin Banner. In the ninth year of Kangxi’s reign (1670), they relocated again to the current location of the Prince’s Mansion. The lineage continued through twelve generations until it reached Gongsan Norbu. The reasons for building the mansion here were, first, the area along the Xibo River had lush grass, dense forests, a pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, and an elegant environment; second, there were the Eighteen Arhat Mountains in front, with nine mountains above and nine below the mansion, plus the Inkstone Platform Mountain behind — considered excellent feng shui, aligning with the psychology of the nobility at the time.

The statue outside the mansion gate depicts Gongsan Norbu, the 12th prince of Kalaqin. Gong Wang, whose courtesy name was Leting, was born in 1872 and ascended to the throne at the age of 27 in 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu era), becoming the Jasagh of the Kalaqin Right Banner and the Coordinating League Leader of the Josutu League. Gongsan Norbu was the last prince but also the most accomplished and enlightened one. He received an excellent education from a young age, was knowledgeable, quick-witted, proficient in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan scripts, and skilled in poetry, calligraphy, painting, horseback riding, archery, and martial arts.

In April of the 24th year of the Guangxu era, his father, Wangduet Namujil, passed away. The following spring, Gongsan Norbu went to Beijing to formally inherit the title and position of the Kalaqin Prince. Afterward, he reformed the malpractices of his father’s era, changing the unlimited corvée labor of the banner people into a fixed quota system, greatly reducing the people’s burden. On this basis, he committed to reforms, implemented new policies, promoted education, developed industry, trained troops, and achieved “five firsts” in the Inner Mongolia region.

The first was establishing a school — Chongzheng School. Promoting education was the first step of Gong Wang’s new policies. In the 28th year of the Guangxu era (1902), he founded Chongzheng School in the west courtyard of the mansion, enrolling over 30 eligible children from the banner free of charge, and personally serving as the principal. The predecessor of the current mansion middle school was Chongzheng School, which has now been in operation for 100 years, educating tens of thousands of students who are spread across the country — truly a case of “students everywhere under heaven.”

The second was founding the first girls’ school — Yuzheng Girls’ School. In the 30th year of the Guangxu era, Gong Wang visited Japan, where he was received by then Japanese Prime Minister Count Okuma and visited the World Expo in Japan. He observed that the main reason for Japan’s strength after the Meiji Restoration was its high level of science and education, while Mongolia lagged due to its backward education. The trip to Japan deeply impacted Gong Wang. Upon returning, he established both Yuzheng Girls’ School and Shouzheng Martial School. He hired Japanese female teacher Ueda Soko to teach Mongolian, Chinese, and Japanese, as well as various domestic science subjects. Shouzheng Martial School focused on military studies and troop training to protect local security.

The third was sending students abroad. To improve educational standards and cultivate talent, Gong Wang was the first to send students overseas. He selected outstanding students from various schools to study further in domestic cities like Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai, as well as abroad.

The fourth was founding a newspaper. To improve the literacy of the banner people and keep them informed about events inside and outside Mongolia, Gong Wang launched the earliest lithographed newspaper in Inner Mongolia — the “Ying Bao” (Infant Newspaper), and established a newspaper office.

The fifth was establishing postal and telegraph services. Gong Wang was the first in the Mongolian region to set up postal and telegraph services. He personally oversaw the erection of poles and laying of lines, connecting the telephone line between Kalaqin and Weichang.

These were all pioneering initiatives in Inner Mongolia, known as the “Five Firsts” of the Mongolian region. These five firsts opened the closed doors of the Kalaqin Banner and allowed its people to see the outside world. In terms of agricultural development, crop yield experiments were conducted, scientific farming methods were promoted, and hundreds of thousands of mulberry saplings were transported from Zhejiang to Beijing by steamship, then brought back by camel and horse to be planted locally for sericulture and cloth weaving. Four of the mulberry trees from that time still remain.

In industrial development, Gong Wang established five factories for weaving, dyeing, felt-making, soap-making, and batik, developing local industries, providing employment, and reducing the number of idle banner people.

In commercial development, he built the “Sanyi Foreign Firm,” attracting merchants from Tianjin, Beijing, and other places to trade. The market flourished, presenting a scene of prosperity, earning it the nickname “Little Beijing.”

The new policies and economic development promoted by Gong Wang were unprecedented in the Chifeng region and played a positive role in advancing the development of the Kalaqin Banner. As a result, Gong Wang’s reputation grew higher and higher throughout the Kalaqin Banner and even the broader Mongolian region.

Gong Wang’s advanced thinking and pioneering spirit stemmed from his interactions in Beijing, where he closely associated with progressive figures such as Wu Shouqing, Liang Qichao, Wu Changshuo, and Yan Fu. Their influence on him was profound, especially his exchanges with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, which laid the foundation for his progressive ideology.

According to page 166 of the “Chronology of Events in the History of the Republic of China” published by the History Museum: On August 25, 1912, at 3 PM at the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing, the Tongmenghui, United Republican Party, National Progressive Association, Republican Progressive Association, and National Public Party formed a coalition, historically known as the “Coalition of Five Parties for Republicanism.” An election for the Central Committee was held, and Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren, Wang Chonghui, Gong San Norbu, Wang Renwen, Wang Zhixiang, Wu Jinglian, and Zhang Fenghui were elected as Central Committee members with varying vote counts. Later, Sun Yat-sen was elected chairman. Gong San Norbu, as the only representative of Mongolian and Tibetan peoples, was elected as one of the nine Central Committee members. He later attended many important meetings of the Tongmenghui with Sun Yat-sen, explaining the ethnic policies of the Republic of China to the world in a timely manner. Gong San Norbu is recorded in historical materials as one of the earliest founders of a minority political party.

Just as the party was being established, Yuan Shikai seized power. Sun Yat-sen, prioritizing the greater good, yielded the presidency to Yuan Shikai. Having witnessed the destruction of the Hundred Days’ Reform due to Yuan Shikai and seeing his friends Liang Qichao, Wu Changshuo, and Yan Fu marginalized by Yuan, Gong Wang did not support Yuan. He returned to the Kalaqin Prince’s Mansion and was the first to propose the slogan of “Mongolian-Han National Unity and Autonomy,” which was warmly welcomed by both Mongolian and Han peoples and was practiced in parts of Rehe Province. This activity was reported in secret to Yuan Shikai by Rehe Governor Xiong Xiling. Fearing Gong Wang’s influence in the Mongolian region, Yuan Shikai, on September 9, 1919, ordered Gong Wang to come to Beijing and appointed him as the head of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Bureau, beginning his 12-year political career in the Beiyang government. During his tenure, Gong Wang repeatedly tried to dissuade Outer Mongolia and Tibet from seeking independence and contributed to maintaining the unity and solidarity of the Chinese nation. In 1931, Gong Wang died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the capital at the age of 59 and was buried in Prince’s Tomb in Jianping, Liaoning. The Kalaqin Prince was the foremost among the 24 princes of Inner Mongolia, enjoying the privilege of “walking before the emperor,” and was the highest-ranking conferred prince, equal in status to Li Hongzhang.

Further Reading:

· China National Third-Class Museum

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units