A museum in the taiga: heritage, ethnic tourism and museum-building amongst the Orochen in northeast China

Abstract

In this paper, I describe the building and use of a new cultural-ecological museum in the Orochen Autonomous Banner in northeast China. I describe the various uses of the museum and how it is perceived by different actors, including: (1) for the presentation of ‘authentic’ Orochen culture by the museum designer; (2) for generating new economic opportunities by the local government; (3) for storing traditional handicrafts by Orochen heritage transmitters; and (4) for maintaining relationships with non-human agencies such as forest and shamanic spirits. My main argument is that while museums form a central part of the heritage tourism industry, they are experienced in highly diverse ways by different groups and stakeholders, including within individual minorities. This brings to the fore more subtle and bottom-up elements of heritage tourism, which to some extent challenge the ‘Authorised Heritage Discourse’ (AHD) of the state. Thus, as I will show, while the new museum reproduces the AHD and crystallises certain political hierarchies, it simultaneously produces more positive articulations and outcomes; for example, increased levels of minority participation, new livelihood opportunities, and genuine cultural engagement amongst heritage transmitters, and young people, and reclaiming the forest as a site of interaction with non-human agencies.

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