Harqin Prince Mansion

Construction of Harqin Prince Mansion began in the 18th year of the Kangxi Reign (1679), boasting a history of over 300 years. It is the earliest built, largest-scaled, highest-ranked and best-preserved Mongolian princely mansion in Inner Mongolia. Listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council, the compound has been renovated into the China Qing Dynasty Mongolian Prince Mansion Museum and rated a National AAA-level Tourist Attraction.

Historical records state the original mansion covered more than 130 mu with over 400 rooms. The grand, imposing complex featured rigorous layout, an extensive architectural system and exquisite structural craftsmanship. It consisted of five successive courtyards along the central axis, with core buildings including the Grand Hall, Second Hall, Ritual Hall, Main Hall and Chengqing Tower. Adopting a strict central symmetrical layout, auxiliary side courtyards stretched to the east and west, subdivided into numerous small quadrangles connected by delicate overhanging flower gates. The west compound served political and religious functions, housing temples, ancestral shrines, reception halls, council chambers, studies and martial arts training grounds. The east compound functioned as the residential quarter, containing an opera tower, bedchambers for the prince and princess consort, storehouses and kitchens. Behind the main mansion lay a hillside private garden modelled after classical private gardens of Beijing. The garden encompassed eleven courtyards and 137 rooms, featuring ancestral shrines for attendants, shrines to the God of Horses and Earth God, alongside an opera pavilion, flower cellars and a deer enclosure. Five pavilions of distinct designs, three low-railed stone flat bridges and gurgling springs wound around stacked rockery formations, reproducing the graceful scenery of Jiangnan water towns. Nine ancient elm trees stood before the mansion gate, while thirteen aobao shrines lined the front square in a neat row. Every hall and chamber inside was adorned with colourful painted beams and decorative murals; carved beams and painted rafters decorated the towers and pavilions. The garden bloomed with vibrant flowers, and towering birch and cypress trees pierced the sky. The entire mansion exuded solemn antique elegance and magnificent momentum, fully embodying the noble status of its royal owner.

Having endured more than three centuries of wind and rain, the entire east compound has vanished, only fragments of the west compound remain, and the rear garden was long lost. Only the core axis buildings survived intact. Starting in 1997, local governments invested massive funds in emergency protective restoration, recovering the original appearance of the central axis and east-west auxiliary courtyards, and reconstructing the screen wall, overhanging flower gates and other lost structures. The restored mansion now features the main gate, sedan hall, administrative office, council chamber, Chengqing Tower, painting and calligraphy hall, ritual reception hall and private study, as well as the princess consort’s living quarters. Large-scale permanent exhibitions include Restoration Exhibition of Harqin Prince Mansion and History Exhibition of Qing Dynasty Inner Mongolian Princely Mansions, earning acclaim from cultural relics experts as China’s largest museum dedicated to Mongolian princely residences.

As the earliest, largest, highest-grade and best-preserved Mongolian princely mansion in Inner Mongolia, Harqin Prince Mansion integrates regional characteristics, ethnic and religious features while embodying the core architectural styles of official Qing construction. It bears profound historical, cultural and scientific value and was designated a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the State Council in 2001. Beyond its ancient buildings, the twin ancient pine trees known as the Dragon and Phoenix Pines on the front terrace stand as a marvel. The pine on the east resembles a phoenix, and the one on the west a dragon, their naturally formed shapes vivid and lifelike. These two pines are included among China’s Extraordinary Ancient Trees.

The distant ancestor of the Harqin princes was Jelme (Jilama), a meritorious general of Genghis Khan from the Uriankhai tribe. He rendered extraordinary service during Genghis Khan’s unification of Mongolia and saved Genghis Khan’s life three times. Genghis Khan granted him immunity from punishment for nine crimes and enfeoffed him as the Ninth Chiliarch Lord. Bound by lifelong friendship between their fathers, Genghis Khan regarded Jelme as a sworn brother and betrothed his daughter to Jelme’s son Jibuge, bestowing upon Jibuge the noble title of Tabunang, meaning imperial son-in-law. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, descendants of the imperial son-in-law Jibuge were enfeoffed the former Khitan territory of Daning, awarded the title Noyan, and their tribe was named Harqin, which translates to “The Guardians” in Chinese.

Generations later, Subudi, the fourteenth-generation descendant of Jelme, led the Harqin tribe to submit to Huang Taiji in the second year of the Tiancong reign. With Subudi’s assistance, Huang Taiji conquered southern Mongolia, and all Mongolian tribes across the Zhaowuda and Zhuosuotu Leagues successively pledged allegiance to the Qing Empire. In the ninth year of Tiancong (1635), Subudi’s son Gulusichibu was appointed Jasagh, becoming the first prince of the Right Wing Harqin Banner. The first and second princes, Gulusichibu and Tubasaleng, resided in present-day Kazuo and Jianping of Liaoning Province. The third prince, Bandarsha, relocated the clan to Longshan in Harqin Banner, before moving to the current mansion site from Longshan in the ninth year of Kangxi (1670). Twelve successive princes ruled thereafter until Gongsa Norbu ascended the throne. The mansion was built here for two key reasons: first, the Xibo River valley featured dense forests, lush grasslands, a mild climate, stunning scenery and an elegant natural environment; second, the location boasted superior feng shui: the Eighteen Arhat Mountains stood to the front, nine peaks rose above the mansion and nine lay below, with Yintai Mountain rising at the rear — a layout highly favoured by Qing nobles of the era.