Visit the Ili Museum and get to know the great Ili. There are a lot of priceless gold treasures on display.

　　Yili, with the reputation of the south of the Great Wall, is located in the western border of the motherland, with a long history and rich culture. It is not only an important node of the northern route of the ancient Silk Road, but also the center of the intersection of eastern and western cultures. It has been a place where many ethnic groups live together since ancient times, and people of all ethnic groups have jointly created a long history and splendid culture, which are displayed in the Ili Museum.

　　The full name of Ili Museum is Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture Museum, located at No.122 Airport Road, Yining City. It is a national third-class museum. It was founded in 1988 and has a history of more than 30 years. It was named Ili Regional Museum when it was founded, and changed to its current name in 2002.

　　Yili Museum covers an area of 6,790 square meters, with a building area of 4,769 square meters. There are three showrooms, namely, Orderly Hall, Nomads in the Grassland-Ili Historical Relics, Ili Ethnic Folklore and Ili Leather Industry Machinery Exhibition. According to the staff, the museum has more than 2,700 precious cultural relics, including a large number of grassland bronzes, deer stones, Boma ancient tombs, silk embroidery treasures, grassland stone men, Chagatai silver and copper coins, which are all very famous. It is said that some cultural relics have also participated in it.

　　Ruby jar with lid

　　The jar is a cultural relic of the Tang Dynasty, made of gold, and its appearance is basically well preserved. The mouth is round and the lips are round, and the ball is full. The lid is round, with 7 precious flowers pressed on it. The center of each flower is inlaid with 7 dripping gems, but unfortunately it is no longer there. The neck and shoulder of the can body are welded with a week of eight-shaped gold wire, and 30 oval rubies are inlaid under it. The artifacts are exquisite in overall shape and elegant in decoration, and they are very beautiful cultural relics.

　　Grassland shiren

　　According to the staff, these grassland stone men are the grave keepers of grassland ancestors and belong to very typical grassland cultural relics. It is found in Bayinbuluke, Zhaosu, Gongnaisi Prairie and other grasslands in Yili Prefecture. It is an important cultural relic to show the spiritual outlook and artistic temperament of ancient grassland people, and it is also a beautiful landscape on the grassland.

　　Blue and white phoenix head flat pot

　　According to the staff of the museum, this cultural relic was unearthed in Xining Village, Lucaogou Township, Huocheng County, Yili Prefecture. Experts speculate that it is a daily utensil for nomadic people to hold drinks. Unfortunately, both the handle and the spout are incomplete, but the pot body is intact, and it is handed down from a blue-and-white flat pot with phoenix head in the National Museum, which has high artistic value.

　　Jin Mianju inlaid with rubies

　　Cultural relics in Sui and Tang Dynasties have a history of more than 1,000 years. They were unearthed in the ancient tomb of Boma in Zhaosu County, Yili Prefecture. The cultural relics have obvious deformation, the face pieces are square, the whole mask is exquisite in workmanship, and the technology is quite similar to that of Jin Mianju unearthed in Fu Longzhi area of Kyrgyzstan in the 4th to 5th centuries. They are all made by hammering butterflies, and their eyes are inlaid with rubies. However, the original works of the museum have been exhibited.

　　Gold cup inlaid with red agate and tiger handle

　　Cultural relics from the Sui and Tang Dynasties were unearthed in Boma Ancient Tomb in Zhaosu County, Yili Prefecture. Cultural relics are deformed by being squeezed and remain the original state when unearthed. The edge of the mouth is rolled, and the edge of the mouth is rolled out and welded with the body, and then a small rectangular groove is cut out to embed gems. The tiger-shaped handle is welded from the mouth edge to the middle abdomen. The tiger's head is wide and round, its ears are erect, its limbs are vigorous, its waist is slender, its tail is drooping, and its whole body is carved with tiger stripes, which is vivid.

　　There are many cultural relics in the Ili Museum, and this is only one of the more representative cultural relics. If you travel to Ili, you must visit this museum.