Ordos Museum

Ordos Museum is a comprehensive museum located at No. 5, South Wenhua West Road, Kangbashi New District, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. Its construction started in 2006, was completed in September 2011, and officially opened to the public for free in May 2012. Covering a land area of 27,760 square meters and a building area of 41,227 square meters, the museum has one underground floor, four above-ground floors, and a partial eighth floor. The building draws inspiration from red sandstone, with its bronze-colored metal exterior symbolizing the grassland civilization. In 2016, it was upgraded to a National First-Class Museum.

Highlights of Ordos Museum

The Salawusu Cultural Relics

Stepping into the Ordos Ancient History Exhibition Hall, the first things that catch your eye are a set of chipped stone tools and ancient human fossils unearthed from the Salawusu Ruins in Wushen Banner. These are the earliest known ancient human remains in the Ordos region. In the 1920s, French experts discovered a large number of animal bones, stone artifacts and a child's incisor fossil here, which made Salawusu well-known. Later, Chinese scientific researchers unearthed fossils such as the "Hetao Man" skull. Also on display here are a variety of fossils from the "Salawusu Fauna", including the Ordos giant deer, Wang's buffalo and woolly rhinoceros. These fossils tell stories of ancient life and are of great significance for studying the evolution of ancient humans in Asia and the origin of modern humans.

Distinctive Ordos Bronzes

Ordos bronzes are unique in China’s bronze culture. Different from the style of bronzes in the Central Plains, they are full of strong grassland cultural characteristics. Since the late 19th century, a large number of such bronze and gold-silver artifacts featuring animal patterns have been unearthed along the northern Great Wall. They are named "Ordos bronzes" because the most and most typical ones were found in Ordos and its surrounding areas. Various utensils such as bronze knives, swords, belt buckles and plaques are on display in the museum. Among them, the bronze short sword with a bell-shaped hilt and curved handle is particularly precious—it has a bright color and neat shape, with intact copper balls inside the bell-shaped hilt that make a clear sound when shaken. The eagle-shaped gold crown in the center of the exhibition hall is even more exquisite. Although the original is kept in the Inner Mongolia Museum, its replica vividly shows the superb craftsmanship and reflects the characteristics of northern ethnic tribes during the Warring States Period.

Ancient Fossil Exhibition

In the Ancient Fossil Exhibition Hall, there is a woolly rhinoceros fossil skeleton with a completeness rate of over 95%, which is known as the "treasure of the museum". Thirty-four species of mammalian fossils and 11 species of avian fossils discovered at the Salawusu Ruins form the "Salawusu Fauna", most of which are on display in the museum. Wandering here, visitors can see fossils such as the Ordos giant deer and Wang's buffalo. These fossils not only show the diverse forms of ancient creatures, but also connect the evolutionary context of life, from simple to complex, from aquatic to terrestrial, and from low-level to high-level. They unveil the mystery of life evolution in the Ordos region over hundreds of millions of years for visitors.

Exhibition of Mongolian Folk Customs

Located on the third floor of the museum, the Ordos Mongolian History and Culture Exhibition systematically sorts out the Mongolian-related history of this land over the past 800 years. On display here are ethnic artifacts such as the magnificent "head ornaments" of Mongolian women, exquisite saddles and distinctive wine pots, which vividly show the unique lifestyle of the Mongolian people. At the same time, it details cultural customs like Genghis Khan Worship and Ordos Wedding, allowing visitors to deeply feel the charm of Mongolian culture. The silver tiger-buttoned seal in the exhibition hall, as an official seal granted by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty to the league leader of the Yikezhao League, is a living witness to the history of the Qing government's implementation of the league-flag system in Ordos.

Educational Value

Ordos Museum: Preserver and Disseminator of Grassland Culture and National Spirit The Distinctive Ordos Bronzes Exhibition Area showcases the unique aesthetic pursuits and life wisdom of northern nomadic peoples through cultural relics such as bronzes with animal patterns and a replica of the eagle-shaped gold crown. It helps visitors understand that the grassland bronze culture is not a "marginal culture", but a highly distinctive branch of China’s bronze civilization. The Mongolian Folk Customs Exhibition takes saddles, ethnic costumes and ritual utensils as entry points, and combines explanations of customs like Genghis Khan Worship and Ordos Wedding. This allows visitors to deeply understand the connotation of nomadic culture, further recognize the pattern of "diversity in unity" of Chinese culture, and cultivate awareness of cross-cultural respect and tolerance.

Activities to do at Ordos Museum

Self-service audio guide： To listen to exhibition explanations and get a better grasp of the museum's cultural relics and history, visitors may choose to rent audio guides.