Siziwang Banner Prince Mansion

The Siziwang Banner Prince Mansion is the sole surviving princely mansion of the Jasagh Prince of Siziwang Banner under the former Ulanqab League from the Qing Dynasty, located on the Ulanqab Plateau north of the Yin Mountains in central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

After the 1911 Revolution, the Jasagh ruler of Siziwang Banner was conferred the title of Prince both by Yuan Shikai’s government and by the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu. The banner was thereafter officially named "Banner of the Two Princes: Jasagh Darhan Joligtu of the Four Tribes", gaining renown across all grasslands south and north of the Gobi Desert.

The mansion stands in Chagan Bulag Sum, 20 kilometers northeast of Wulanhua Town, the seat of Siziwang Banner. It sits on the left side of the highway leading to Gegentala Grassland Tourist Resort and South Sonid Banner.

The compound encompasses the Jasagh Prince’s main residence, rear palaces and government yamen, covering over 10,000 square meters. It was completed in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign of the late Qing Dynasty (1905) under the reign of Prince Lawang Norbu, the then Jasagh. The ancestral temple of the mansion was finished three years later, in the 34th year of Guangxu’s reign (1908).

The main mansion complex, rear palaces and Jasagh administrative yamen adopt Han-style brick-and-timber architecture adorned with exquisite painted beams and carved columns. The ancestral temple consists of two Tibetan-style dukhang scripture halls and a Buddhist stupa housing sacred relics, exuding antique and unique charm.

The mansion borders a riverbed densely covered with needlegrass. The surrounding land lies flat and unobstructed, presenting classic steppe scenery.

Descended from Hasar, the younger blood brother of Genghis Khan, the Four Tribes constituted a vital branch of the Mongolian Aluu tribes in the Qing Dynasty, boasting a long, legendary history and well-preserved distinctive folk customs to this day.

Throughout the Qing era, this site served as the annual assembly venue for the six banners of Ulanqab League, carrying great historical significance. Well into modern times, it drew numerous travelers and explorers from home and abroad. The world-famous explorer Sven Hedin visited the Siziwang Prince Mansion in 1932 and took precious photographs with the reigning prince of that era, which remain valuable historical records.

The mansion is merely a little over one hour’s drive from Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and sits adjacent to the world-renowned Gegentala Tourism Center, endowing it immense potential for tourism development.