Inner Mongolia Museum

Inner Mongolia Museum

Inner Mongolia Museum is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a science education base, and a patriotic education base.

Inner Mongolia Museum is situated in the northwest corner of the intersection between East Second Ring Road and Xinhua East Street in Hohhot, adjacent to the Inner Mongolia Wulan Chateau building. The main building spans more than 50,000 square meters, boasts a unique architectural style and state-of-the-art equipment, and is composed of sections such as the exhibition hall area, cultural relics storage area, visitor service area, research and operations area, and a multi-function hall. The museum integrates strong modern elements, regional characteristics, and ethnic features. It serves as an “encyclopedia” that condenses the hundreds of millions of years of ecological changes and the development history of grassland civilization in northern China, and also symbolizes the region’s economic and social development level and degree of civilization.

Drawing on the autonomous region’s rich resources—including paleontological fossils, living organisms, historical relics, and ethnic cultural artifacts—Inner Mongolia Museum adopts the theme of “grassland culture” throughout all its basic and thematic exhibitions, forming the “Grassland Culture Series Exhibitions.” These span three levels of the museum, encompassing 14 exhibitions, while also constructing a cohesive and progressively ascending spatial experience with attention to visitor flow. On the second floor, the four basic exhibitions — “Ancient World,” “Vast Plateau,” “Underground Treasures,” and “Flying Spacecraft” — introduce the birthplace of grassland culture with vivid, lifelike depictions blending landscape and scene. On the third floor, the four basic exhibitions — “Might of the Grasslands,” “Pride of the Grasslands,” “Flavor of the Grasslands,” and “Beacons of the Grasslands” — present the vertical development of grassland culture from ancient times to the modern era in a segmented, bead-like format. These are concise, vivid, and easy to understand. On the fourth floor, the six thematic exhibitions — “Sunrise on the Grasslands,” “Knights of the Wind,” “Grassland Attire,” “Melody of the Skies,” “Brilliance of the Grasslands,” and “Relics of the Ancient Routes” — highlight six remarkable aspects of grassland culture through spotlight features, offering a refined yet accessible experience for all. These exhibitions offer multi-dimensional, multi-angle perspectives that interweave the broad and the detailed, systematically portraying a comprehensive image of Inner Mongolia from macro to micro levels. The presentations are distinctive and captivating.

Inner Mongolia Museum

Inner Mongolia Museum also showcases the achievements of the region’s cultural and museum sector over the past sixty years. Its internal facilities are intelligent and information-driven, equipped with advanced systems such as security early-warning, building automation, and cultural relics management networks. The cultural relics storage, conservation center, restoration labs for both ancient and modern biological specimens, exhibition production studios, technical information center, academic research rooms, youth activity center, administrative offices, and large multimedia conference rooms offer optimized and comprehensive functionality. Special emphasis is placed on providing various humanized services and cultural-industrial offerings in the visitor areas, establishing Inner Mongolia Museum as a high-quality public venue for social education, appreciation, leisure, and entertainment.

Four Basic Exhibitions on the Second Floor

1. Ancient World: This natural paleontological fossil exhibition of Inner Mongolia displays the dramatic ecological changes of the region’s ancient environment from 3 billion to 10,000 years ago. It particularly highlights Mesozoic dinosaur and Tertiary and Quaternary mammal fossil specimens, living up to Inner Mongolia’s reputation as the “Hometown of Fossils.”

2. Vast Plateau: This natural living organisms exhibition of Inner Mongolia showcases plant and animal specimens currently found in the region. It features standout environments from eastern forests, central grasslands, and western deserts and Gobi, guiding visitors into the unique natural ecological world of Inner Mongolia.

3. Underground Treasures: This geological and mineral specimen exhibition displays various types of precious metal ores, non-ferrous metal ores, non-metallic minerals, energy resources, and construction materials abundant in Inner Mongolia, presenting the region’s rich geological and mineral wealth.

4. Flying Spacecraft: This large-scale aerospace technology exhibition based in Inner Mongolia showcases the history and achievements of China’s space program, as well as the tremendous contributions made by the people of Inner Mongolia. It inspires exploration of the cosmos and promotes the open and humanistic spirit of the grasslands.

Four Basic Exhibitions on the Third Floor

1. Beacons of the Grasslands: This exhibition on the modern revolutionary struggle history of Inner Mongolia displays the social conditions and revolutionary relics from 1919’s May Fourth Movement to the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It focuses on the heroic, tragic, and uniquely ethnic revolutionary struggles of the people of all ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

2. Flavor of the Grasslands: This exhibition on the modern ethnic customs of Inner Mongolia presents the production, livelihoods, culture, arts, etiquette, and religious beliefs of eight ethnic groups—Mongol, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen, Manchu, Hui, Korean, and Han—who have lived in the region over recent centuries, actively promoting outstanding traditional ethnic cultures.

3. Pride of the Grasslands: This general history exhibition of ancient Mongolian peoples spotlights Genghis Khan and the Yuan Dynasty. Covering nearly a thousand years from the origins of the Mongolian people through the Mongol-Yuan era to the Ming and Qing periods, it showcases the wisdom, brilliance, and epic history of the Mongolian nation. It is one of the most globally recognized special exhibitions.

4. Might of the Grasslands: This exhibition on the ancient ethnic history of Inner Mongolia displays premium artifacts from ancient peoples of the grasslands, such as the grassland ancestors, Donghu, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, and Khitan peoples. It emphasizes the Neolithic Hongshan culture and Liao culture, narrating the origin, formation, development, and glorious history of grassland civilization.

Thematic Exhibitions on the Fourth Floor Currently Being Updated

1. Sunrise on the Grasslands: This special exhibition on Neolithic artifacts of Inner Mongolia displays the farming, hunting, pottery-making, jade-carving, dwelling, diet, clothing, marriage, funerary practices, culture, religion, and social organizations of the ancient northern grassland peoples. It highlights the indelible contributions of grassland civilization to the development of Chinese civilization.

2. Knights of the Wind: This special exhibition on ancient saddle and horse artifacts of Inner Mongolia showcases the horse breeds, tack, herding and training methods, the influence of horses on the Central Plains’ economy and culture, and cavalry weapons throughout history. It fully reflects the wisdom and creativity of northern grassland peoples and the heroic spirit of the horseback peoples.

3. Grassland Attire: This special exhibition on ancient clothing artifacts of Inner Mongolia uses a dynamic, bead-like approach to reflect the unique attire styles of northern grassland and forest peoples, expressing the aesthetic values of ancient northern nomadic peoples.

4. Melody of the Skies: This special exhibition on ancient and modern song and dance art of Inner Mongolia reflects the enduring singing and dancing traditions, deep cultural roots, and distinctive artistic creativity of the northern grasslands. It allows direct audience interaction, offering great fun and appeal.

5. Brilliance of the Grasslands: This special exhibition on ancient cultural and artistic artifacts of Inner Mongolia displays rock paintings, stone tablets, stone carvings, and other relics from northern grassland peoples spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty. It reflects the unique stylistic elements in the ideological and cultural creations of these peoples.

6. Relics of the Ancient Routes: This special exhibition on ancient Silk Road artifacts of the Inner Mongolia grasslands displays cultural relics introduced to the grasslands from the Central Plains and the West, as well as premium artifacts influenced by East-West interactions from the Warring States period to the Qing Dynasty over two millennia. It reflects the open-mindedness of northern grassland peoples and their significant role in facilitating East-West cultural exchange.

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China