Autonomous Banner

The autonomous banner is one of China’s administrative divisions. In China, it is equivalent to county-level administrative regions such as municipal districts, county-level cities and counties. Autonomous banner, is the unique ethnic autonomous areas for Inner Mongolia autonomous region. As of October 8, 2018, China has a total of three autonomous banners: Oroqen Autonomous Banner, Ewenki Autonomous Banner, Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner.

Background of China’s Autonomous Banner

Due to the long-term contacts and migrations among nationalities in the history of Inner Mongolia, the majority of the population of Han nationality has been formed, except for the Mongolian nationality. In addition, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen, Hui, Manchu, Korea and other ethnic minorities are also living in some places of Inner Mongolia. They jointly developed and defended China’s northern frontier with the Mongolian nationality, and made contributions to the political, economic and cultural development of this region.

After the founding of new China, the party’s policy on regional ethnic autonomy was fully implemented. After entering the ’50 s, under the condition of Inner Mongolia to further promote the Mongolian nationality regional autonomy, the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur ethnic minorities within the region also successively put forward that the ethnic source, name, settlement and the requirement of the regional autonomy.

The department organized a working group to make a comprehensive social investigation into the situation of Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur in several years and have found out their ethnic origin, national identity and so on. Also they have made a comprehensive understanding and textual research on their national history, social development stage, economic culture and life characteristics at that time. On this basis, Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur minorities autonomous banners were founded successively.

Three Autonomous Banner of China

Oroqen Autonomous Banner(鄂伦春自治旗)

Oroqen Autonomous Banne is an autonomous banner that lies directly south of the urban district of Hailar in the prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir. It covers an area of 60,378 square kilometres (23,312 sq mi). It is the bright pearl on the Daxinganling mountains, founded in 1951, which is the earliest national autonomous banner in China, also the largest banner (city) in the city. The banner is home to 300,000 people from 21 ethnic groups, including Oroqen, Ewenki, Daur, Mongol and Han. It has jurisdiction over 8 towns 2 townships. Its capital is the town of Alihe (阿里河镇).

The Oroqen autonomous banner is a green treasure house with great potential for development. Woodland area of 43.89 million mu, woodland area of 50.16%. The volume of standing wood is 290 million cubic meters, which is one of the important bases of wood production in China. The vast forest is home to more than 150 kinds of wild animals, including more than 30 kinds of first and second class wild animals protected by the state. There are more than 300 kinds of Chinese herbal medicine, fern, daylily, wicker sprout, mushroom, monkey head, black fungus, red bean, bilberry and other mountain products growing in the forest.

Beautiful natural landscape, unique Oroqen folk culture and human civilization relics add gorgeous colors to the autonomous banner. The main tourist attractions include Ga Xian Dong, Oroqen museum, Dalbinhu National Forest Park, Xing ‘an Forest Park, Oroqen Hunting Village and Folk Village, etc.

Ewenki Autonomous Banner(鄂温克族自治旗)

Ewenki Autonomous Banner is an Autonomous Banner that lies on the border between northwestern Greater Khingan and Hulun Buir grasslands and directly south of the urban district of Hailar in the Prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir, People’s Republic of China. It has an area of 19,111 km2 (7,379 sq mi). The most populous town in Ewenki Autonomous Banner, Dayan Town, which was once Dayan Mining Area as an administrative division and is now the main part of an industrial district also named Dayan Mining Area, has an area of 443 square kilometres.

The whole banner has 1,289,000 hectares of grassland, accounting for 68.9 percent of the total area of the banner. Forest area of 112 hectares, accounting for the whole area of 58.9%. There are many kinds of wild plants, including 72 families, 284 genera and 621 species of plants. Rare plants such as national secondary protection plants are camphor pine, Xingan willow. There are grassland white mushroom, face mushroom, purple mushroom, ganoderma and other fungi. According to incomplete statistics, there are 4 orders, 14 families and 49 species of wild animals living in the banner. Among them are 12 rare animals protected by the state. Bird resources are relatively rich. It is recorded that there are 140 species of birds in 16 orders and 34 families in the Yimin river basin. 

In the southeast of the grassland of the autonomous banner, 150 kilometers away from the seat of the banner, there is the mineral spring of the Vina river, which is comparable to the famous Vichy mineral spring in France. At present, the development of tourism in the autonomous banner focuses on the Bayan Hushuo Tourism Area, Honghuaerji forest park, Huihe wetland reserve, Wuquan mountain tourism area, etc.

Daur Autonomous Banner(莫力达瓦达斡尔族自治旗)

Established on August 15, 1958, Daur Autonomous Banner is one of the three ethnic autonomous banners in the region. It lies on the Nen River, borders Heilongjiang province to the east, south, and southwest, and is under the administration of Hulunbuir City. The existing land area is about 10,400 square kilometers. Its length is 203.2 kilometers from north to south and 125 kilometers from east to west.

It has a vast area, rich land resources, high soil organic matter content, and great potential for development. It has 6.89 million mu of arable land, 3.3 million mu of grassland, 3.42 million mu of woodland, 56 rivers and streams, and its total surface water resources are 14.453 billion cubic meters, accounting for about 40% of the total area. Rich in wildlife resources, more than 30 kinds of edible plants, more than 250 kinds of medicinal plants, more than 10 kinds of wood trees.

The banner boasts unique cultural landscape and rich tourism resources. There are China’s Daur ethnic park, Daur ethnic museum, Lightning strike stone, Golden boundary trench, and Molidawa mountain. It is also known as the “soybean town”, “hockey town”, “singing and dancing town”.

Minority Discovery with China Dragon Tours

On this vast land, there are 55 ethnic minority groups who have colorful costumes, different flavors of food, unique etiquette, and a variety of festivals. They are mainly distributed in the southwest, northwest and northeast areas. The most popular destinations for minority discovery are Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Xinjiang and Tibet, which also boasts amazing natural scenery at the same time. Yunnan province has the largest number of ethnic population in China with 25 ethnic minorities. Join our minority discovery tours, and you definitely will have great fun by discovering the ethnic villages, enjoying the local performance and taking parting in the local big event.

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