Bortala Museum, where the history of the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains is gathered
When you arrive in Bole, you should first visit the Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture Museum. Only by understanding its history can you have a macro concept of this place.
The exterior of the museum is actually quite interesting, with a large golden tent in the middle and smaller yurts on both sides, connected together, which fits well with the ethnic customs of Bortala Prefecture.
As for the collection, it is actually not much. According to the official website, the museum has more than 2,000 cultural relics (many of which are folk exhibits and should not be considered cultural relics, about 2,000 pieces), of which only six are national first-class cultural relics. Compared with many museums, it is indeed very small, but it still has its own distinctive regional characteristics.
Treasures of the Museum
✅ It is generally believed that the most precious is the following Han Dynasty gold ornaments, rectangular jade wrapped in gold, and agate and turquoise strung together with five gold chains. It has a strong nomadic ethnic style and is indeed very beautiful, isn't it?! Especially considering that it dates back to the Han Dynasty.
Since the establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate in the Western Han Dynasty, this land began to come under the influence of the central government. The museum has the story of Zheng Ji, the first protector of the Western Regions Protectorate in the Western Han Dynasty.
✅ The third picture shows a gold entwined pattern bronze mirror from the Jin Dynasty, the fourth picture shows a three-faced eight-armed bronze gilt Medicine Buddha statue from the Ming Dynasty, and the fifth picture shows a large red pottery urn, all of which are first-class cultural relics. In addition, there are gold bracelets and gold belts from the Yuan Dynasty, which seem to have not been photographed, but they are all in separate display cases on site and are very clear.
✅ Large Pottery Urn
Personally, I feel that it is almost as large as the treasure of the Aksu Museum—the large pottery urn (the largest pottery in China). During the Tang Dynasty, it seems that the countries in the Western Regions liked to make large pottery. Quite interesting.
✅ Dalet Ancient City
Most of the exhibits were unearthed from the "Dalet Ancient City" not far from the urban area of Bole. It was an important town in the Western Regions during the Karakhanid Dynasty, Western Liao, and Chagatai Khanate periods in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, known as "Boluocheng" in historical books. The large red pottery urn above and the Yuan Chagatai Khanate copper coins below were all unearthed here. Because it is located at the crucial point of the east-west route of the Silk Road, there are many cultural relics with obvious exotic characteristics like the one below.
But I personally like the large Jun kiln bowl from the Yuan Dynasty, with very beautiful kiln change colors and a large shape; there is also a blue glass bottle from the Yuan Dynasty, with such a beautiful shape and high transparency, I have never seen a similar one elsewhere!
After visiting the museum, I couldn't help but go to the archaeological site of Dalet Ancient City to take a look, but there was nothing much left on site, only very low rammed earth foundations could be seen along the wooden plank road.
✅ Other Cultural Sites
In addition to Dalet Ancient City, there is also the Husta site in Bortala Prefecture, where the earliest horse bones in China were unearthed, and the Adunqiaolu site from the 17th century BC, where steppe stone men were unearthed. This also proves that as early as the 19th century BC, there was civilization on the grasslands at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
There is also the Qingdeli Ancient City, where the Shuanghe Dudu Fu of the Tang Dynasty was located, and the Jinghe Anfu site from the Qing Dynasty... Thousands of years of history have strung together the stories of the grasslands at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
✅ Steppe Stone Men
In the Bronze Age, the Central Plains liked jade as religious ritual vessels for spiritual communication and prayer, such as the various jade cong, jade bi, and jade axes that the Liangzhu culture is famous for.
But in the Stone Age of the Xinjiang grasslands, the objects for spiritual communication and prayer were actually ordinary stones~~ There are not only various steppe stone men, but this incomplete stone mask in the Bortala Museum is one of the few "masks", no wonder it is also a first-class cultural relic.
Similar steppe stone men can also be seen in the Ili Museum, which seems to be a classic shape of this period. There is also one that looks like a monkey eating a peach? Could this be the prototype of Sun Wukong?
✅ Bronze Cauldron
This time visiting museums in Xinjiang, I learned about this new bronze vessel type—the bronze cauldron. This vessel type is widely seen in the nomadic civilizations of the grasslands, from the Inner Mongolia grasslands to the Tianshan grasslands in Xinjiang, and even in the Kazakhstan Museum in Central Asia.
✅ Other Exhibition Halls
In addition to the historical exhibition, the museum also has a folk exhibition. It comprehensively introduces the traditions of various ethnic groups in Bortala Prefecture from the characteristics of clothing, to art and culture, to architectural styles, and dietary habits.
Another exhibition hall is a natural flora and fauna exhibition, showcasing the geological conditions and flora and fauna resources of Bortala Prefecture. Personally, I am more interested in the historical part, but interested friends can check it out.
✅ The Story of the Westward Migration of the Chahar
The museum has a large number of cultural relics similar to those in Inner Mongolia. Because in the late Qing Dynasty, the Chahar migrated westward three times, garrisoning and farming in the strategic location of Bortala outside the Great Wall, and have taken root here for three hundred years. This magnificent history is also reflected in the modern cultural relics of the museum.
✅ Other Special Exhibitions
The new museum of Bortala Museum opened for trial operation on December 28, 2023. There is also a replica of a national treasure from the Jingzhou Museum on site—the Tiger Seat Phoenix Frame Suspended Drum. Hubei Province is the counterpart support unit of Bortala Prefecture, and it seems that the construction of the Bortala Museum also benefited from the help of various museums in Hubei.
There are irregular exchanges and exhibitions of cultural relics from various levels of museums in Hubei here. For example, in June, there was the "Chu Jade Collection—Exhibition of Chu State Jade Artifacts Unearthed in Jingzhou"; and starting from August 1, there is the "Ancient Chu Treasures—Special Exhibition of Guodian Chu Bamboo Slips" from the Jingmen Museum, which is said to be held until October. Friends passing by can take a look.