Students dedicated to promoting Ewenki culture

Returning from a field study into the Ewenki people in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang Province during the summer vacation, three teachers and six students of Shenzhen University (SZU) are building the online replicas of two local museums to help promote their treasured cultural traditions.

Team members pose with reindeer herder Ayousha and her husband. Photos courtesy of Shenzhen University

They visited the Ewenki Museum in Hulunbuir, which as a collection of over 1,600 sets of cultural relics related to the history and life of the Ewenkis. The team also visited the Reindeer Culture Museum in the Aoluguya Ewenki Village, with a collection of over 200 sets of relics depicting the traditions of the reindeer herding tribes. 

With extended reality (XR) videos shot at the two museums, the team is now on an ambitious task to set up a website, bringing the online replicas of the two museums to a larger audience.

An interior view of the Ewenki Museum.

Led by Huang Yubo, vice dean of Media and Communication School at SZU, the teachers and students also interviewed seven Ewenkis, including Ayousha and her husband who chose to return to the forest in Jinhe Town to herd reindeer five years ago, and Wu Dan, a young college graduate appointed as the deputy chief of the Aoluguya Ewenki Village. 

Team members film the collection of the Reindeer Culture Museum.

The team is producing short videos of their interviewees and the Ewenki culture, which they will post on social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.

In the hinterland of Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, the Aoluguya Ewenkis, China’s last hunting and gathering tribe, traditionally lived by raising reindeer. 

A view of the Reindeer Culture Museum in the Aoluguya Ewenki Village.

More than 20 years ago, these people moved from the deep forests in the Dahinggan Range to Genhe City, Inner Mongolia to resettle. Today, of the 30,000 Ewenkis living in north Asia, including in China, only 30 Chinese Ewenkis are still living the traditional way, deeming reindeer as their closest friends. 

With the animals’ number decreasing to around 1,300 in China, the Ewenkis are trying to promote reindeer conservation to the outside world.

Team members interview the influencer reindeer herder Gumusen.

“We were impressed by their traditional wisdom, respect for nature, and optimism in the face of difficulties amid tough living conditions,” said Yan Jiawei, a faculty member on the SZU team.

“Against the backdrop of global warming and aggravating environmental crises, the Ewenki people’s respect for nature and simple way of living can be an inspiration for modern city dwellers,” Yan said. “We don’t really need all those material possessions after all.”