Luo Gang, the curator of China’s first ecomuseum in Southwestern Guizhou province, begins his day by cleaning the courtyard to welcome visitors. The ecomuseum was built to protect the Qing Miao culture, an ancient and mysterious branch of the Miao ethnic group. In early 1995, a research team organized by the Chinese Museums Association traveled to the remote high mountains of the Liuzhi Special District and Zhijin county and discovered less than 5,000 Qing Miao people residing in the area.
The Qing Miao people are known for their symbolized buffalo horn-shaped head ornament, traditionally used by women, and are also referred to as “the longhorn Miao people.” This head ornament is made of horn-shaped wooden boards and is twined by linen and wool thread or hair as long as three meters, weighing around two kilograms. The Qing Miao people wore this head ornament to scare off beasts while escaping wars and moved to forests during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The ecomuseum nestled in the Liuzhi Special District mountains aims to preserve and promote the culture of the Qing Miao people. Luo Gang’s daily routine of cleaning the courtyard reflects the ecomuseum’s dedication to providing a warm welcome to visitors who come to learn about the rich history of the Qing Miao culture. The Qing Miao people have a unique culture, and their customs and traditions have been carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
The ecomuseum serves as a platform for the Qing Miao people to showcase their way of life and share their culture with the world. The buffalo horn-shaped head ornament, a significant cultural artifact of the Qing Miao people, is on display at the ecomuseum, providing visitors with a glimpse into the daily lives of the Qing Miao people over the centuries. The ecomuseum’s efforts to protect and promote the Qing Miao culture have also contributed to the sustainable development of the local economy and helped improve the living standards of the Qing Miao people.
The ecomuseum in Southwestern Guizhou province aims to preserve and promote the Qing Miao culture, an ancient and mysterious branch of the Miao ethnic group. The Qing Miao people are known for their buffalo horn-shaped head ornament, and the ecomuseum serves as a platform for them to showcase their unique culture. The daily routine of the curator, Luo Gang, reflects the ecomuseum’s dedication to providing a warm welcome to visitors who come to learn about the rich history of the Qing Miao culture. The ecomuseum’s efforts have also contributed to the sustainable development of the local economy and helped improve the living standards of the Qing Miao people.
An Laishun, chairman of the regional alliance of Asia-Pacific countries of the International Council of Museums, remembers the conditions of the Qing Miao people when he first arrived in the Liuzhi Special District in 1995. The roads to the villages were muddy, and the houses were thatched-roofed. Villagers were afraid of strangers, and children would run away.
At that time, the Qing Miao people still lived in a closed environment and had a self-sufficient natural economy, which was rare to see, according to An. The provincial cultural department invited the research team to build a new type of museum in the province, and they decided to set up the country’s first ecomuseum in Suojia Miao, Yi, and Hui Township.
The team, consisting of Chinese and Norwegian museum professionals, launched the construction of the ecomuseum in 1997. Sponsored by the Chinese and Norwegian governments, the ecomuseum was opened to the public in October 1998.
The ecomuseum was built to protect the Qing Miao culture, an ancient and mysterious branch of the Miao ethnic group. The Qing Miao people were known as “the longhorn Miao people” because of their symbolized buffalo horn-shaped head ornament, which is traditionally used by women. The eye-catching head ornament is tied with horn-shaped wooden boards in hair, twined by linen and wool thread, or hair as long as three meters and weighing around two kilograms. The Qing Miao people wore this head ornament to scare off beasts while escaping wars and moved to forests in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Located in the Liuzhi Special District mountains, the ecomuseum aims to preserve and showcase the unique culture and history of the Qing Miao people. It offers visitors a chance to learn about the people’s way of life, customs, and beliefs. It also promotes ecotourism in the region, helping to boost the local economy.
An Laishun, who once cleaned the courtyard of the ecomuseum every morning to welcome visitors, is proud to have played a role in preserving the Qing Miao culture. The ecomuseum has since become a model for cultural preservation in China and around the world.
The Suojia ecomuseum in Southwestern Guizhou province, China, consists of a Qing Miao community covering 12 villages spread across more than 120 square kilometers and an information center in Longjia Village. The information center holds all documentation of the culture, such as oral history recordings, photographs, written sources, and valuable objects. The ecomuseum concept originated in France in the 1970s and aims to protect cultural heritage in its original state within the community and environment, unlike traditional museums that transfer cultural heritage to museum buildings.
China adopted a new mode of ecomuseum to protect traditional culture in the 1970s, and the Suojia ecomuseum was the first of its kind in the country. Over the past two decades, experts and local people have helped preserve the local ethnic culture by developing the ecomuseum. The museum has put the remote area on the map, bringing villagers closer to the outside world. Every day, Luo Gang, the museum’s curator, cleans up the courtyard to welcome visitors.
Over 70,000 tourists, both domestic and foreign, visit the ecomuseum annually, according to Luo. However, the outside world has also brought challenges. An Laishun, the chairman of the regional alliance of Asia-Pacific countries of the International Council of Museums, who was a research team member that established the museum, said that since the area was isolated for so long, its culture was well-preserved in its original state. Still, as links between the area and the outside world have strengthened, the balance between modern life and traditional culture and living standards has been challenged.
The Qing Miao people still live in a closed environment, having a self-sufficient natural economy, which was rare to see when the research team visited in the early 1990s. The symbolized buffalo horn-shaped head ornament, traditionally used by women, is also known as the “longhorn Miao people.” The head ornament is tied with horn-shaped wooden boards in the hair, twined by linen and wool thread, or hair as long as three meters, and weighing around two kilograms. The Qing Miao people wore this head ornament to scare off beasts while escaping wars and moving to forests during the early Qing Dynasty.
The research team, consisting of Chinese and Norwegian museum professionals, was invited by the provincial cultural department to build a new type of museum in the province. After visiting several villages, the team decided to set up the country’s first ecomuseum in Suojia Miao, Yi, and Hui Township. Sponsored by the Chinese and Norwegian governments, construction of the ecomuseum began in 1997 and opened to the public in October 1998.
Luo Gang, the curator of the Suojia ecomuseum in Guizhou province, noticed that fewer people were able to make traditional Qing Miao costumes, and spinning and weaving machines at home were being abandoned. To address this, they applied for funding to tailor 50 spinning and weaving machines and distributed them to villagers for free, encouraging them to pass on their weaving skills to young women. About 200 villagers have now mastered the skills, and a Qing Miao clothing processing factory was opened in Gaoxing Village to provide jobs, increase income for villagers, and preserve the ethnic tradition. Traditional thatched-roof wooden and mud dwellings were also in danger of disappearing as they could not meet young people’s pursuit of modern life. However, governmental funding was secured to protect ten traditional dwellings in the community.
In the eyes of residents, the ecomuseum not only helps to protect their traditional culture but also brings a better life for them. Villagers are looking forward to better roads and more tourists in the future. Pan Shouyong, a professor at Shanghai University, believes that mainstream museums in cities reflect elite culture, while museums in the countryside preserve the cultural heritage and lifestyle of ordinary people. He suggests that combining cultural heritage protection with tourism and cultural and creative industries will be one of the focuses of the ecomuseum’s future development.
The Suojia ecomuseum consists of a Qing Miao community and an information center that holds all data and documentation of the culture, such as tape recordings of oral history, photographs, written sources, and specific, valuable objects. The ecomuseum concept originated in France in the 1970s, and unlike traditional museums that transfer cultural heritage to museum buildings, the ecomuseum protects and preserves cultural heritage in its original state in its community and environment. The community area is equivalent to the scope of the museum.
The museum has helped put the remote area on the map, closing the distance between villagers and the outside world. Over 70,000 domestic and foreign tourists visit the ecomuseum annually. However, as links between the area and the outside world have strengthened, the balance between modern life and traditional culture and living standards has been challenged.
Over the past two decades, experts and local people have helped protect the local ethnic culture by developing the ecomuseum. The Chinese and Norwegian governments sponsored the construction of the ecomuseum, which was launched in 1997 and opened to the public in October 1998. The ecomuseum covers 12 villages distributed over more than 120 square kilometers, and the information center is located in Longjia Village.
The Suojia ecomuseum was the first of its kind in China, adopting a new mode of ecomuseum at that time. Countries had been exploring new methods to protect traditional culture since the 1970s, and the ecomuseum was one of them. The Suojia ecomuseum has helped protect the local ethnic culture and preserve it for future generations.