Niche Museum Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County Museum The First Bronze Yak in China

Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County Museum, the Yuan Dynasty bronze yak in the collection is a marvel, a national first-class cultural relic. Currently, this is the only bronze artifact shaped like a yak unearthed in China. The smelting technology is extremely advanced, with almost no welding marks. The yak's long eyelashes and round tail are particularly cute. 📍Attraction Address: No. 60 Danma Road, Huazang Temple Town, Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County 🚗Attraction Transportation: Taxi or self-driving, the county is small and easy to get a taxi for less than 20 yuan 👍️Must-visit Attraction: The First Bronze Yak in China (National First-Class Cultural Relic) 🎟️Ticket Information: Free (ID registration) from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM 💗Other Tips: In the Tianzhu Museum, there is a treasure comparable to the famous Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow, which is one of the two national treasures with animal images in Gansu Province - the bronze yak. It is also the first bronze artifact shaped like a yak unearthed in China. Although its discovery was 11 years later than the Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow in Wuwei, it still caused a great sensation. The strong and powerful, majestic aura makes it appear extremely impressive, earning it the title of "First Yak in Gansu." The brief introduction states it was cast in the Yuan Dynasty, but recent expert research suggests the bronze yak should be from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, serving as a prayer artifact for the Tubo tribe at that time. The bronze yak has also popularized Tianzhu's specialty, the white yak. "The world's white yak, only in Tianzhu." On the national highway in Tianzhu, I encountered herds of white yaks. The bronze yak in the collection is very similar in shape to the white yak, witnessing the ancient survival state of the white yak in Tianzhu. Especially the tail design is unique, with dense and regular streamlined decorative lines carved on the yak's tail, resembling a brush tip, adding a sense of dynamic beauty visually, making it lively and vivid. Rich in variation, yak totem worship exists in the Tibetan areas of China, so its discovery in the Tianzhu Tibetan area is not a coincidence. The yak is a spiritual symbol of Tibetan culture and the source of vitality for the Tibetan people. Besides the bronze yak, I was also impressed by the prehistoric painted pottery displayed in the Tianzhu Museum, including pottery making techniques and cultural features from different periods such as the Majiayao Culture, Qijia Culture, Xindian Culture, and Siwa Culture. It can be seen that the Tianzhu area had cultural exchanges and collisions with surrounding areas in prehistoric times. The section introducing the prosperity of Tibetan Buddhist temples in Tianzhu reveals that there are fourteen Tibetan Buddhist temples here, including the Heaven Temple, one of the five famous northern temples, and the highest wooden seated Buddha statue of Tsongkhapa in Asia, among other precious cultural relics. Many famous scholars and eminent monks, including the national teacher of the Qianlong Emperor, emerged here. I also had a close look at a set of horse gear granted by Emperor Kangxi to the living Buddha of Dalong Temple in Tianzhu. The museum has opened a "Snowy Region Style - Tianzhu County Ethnic and Folk Exhibition" to specifically showcase the unique ethnic and folk characteristics of Tianzhu. As a place where the Tu ethnic group is relatively concentrated nationwide, the visit to the Tianzhu Museum gave me a more intuitive understanding of the Tu ethnic minority, which I knew little about before. The ancestors of the Tu ethnic group were originally a nomadic tribe of the Murong branch of the Xianbei in Liaodong, Greater Khingan Range. They migrated westward at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty and settled at the junction of the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, taking root in the Hehuang Valley. Here, they built the Tuyuhun Kingdom, gradually transforming from a nomadic to an agricultural society. The rich folk customs of the Tibetan and Tu ethnic groups have also become a unique highlight of this museum.