Hure Banner 库伦旗

History

The banner descends from the Qing-era Siretu Hure Banner (锡埒图库伦旗); in 1934, under Manchukuo, it was merged with neighbouring banners and re-formed as Hure Banner. It joined Inner Mongolia in 1949, belonged to Jilin from 1969 to 1979 and has been part of Tongliao since 1999. The Hure culture and tourism bureau dates Kulun town to the seventeenth century, and the banner government lists it as a national famous historic and cultural town. Of the eleven ethnic groups living in the banner, Mongols form the main one, alongside Han, Hui and Manchu.

What to see

The Three Temples of Hure (库伦三大寺) stand in terraces on the slope in the middle of Kulun town, which rises to the north. Xingyuan Temple (兴源寺), begun in 1649, is a lamasery in combined Tibetan and Chinese style; its main hall, with 61 gilded dragon columns and nine bays each way, is known as the "hall of eighty-one rooms", and the temple now houses a museum. Fuyuan Temple (福缘寺), from 1742, has four halls one behind another, and Xiangjiao Temple (象教寺) is likewise laid out in four courtyards. The group has been a national key cultural relics protection unit since 2006 and was rated a national 4A scenic area in December 2010.

The Tamin Chagan desert, whose Mongolian name the Hure culture and tourism bureau glosses as "devil's sand", runs east to west through the whole banner; the scenic area at the Wafang ranch (瓦房牧场) offers horse and camel riding and sand-sliding. The banner government also counts Andai (安代), a Mongol dance, and the Hure Mongolian medicine factory, described as the first Mongolian medicine company in China, among its signatures.

Food and local products

Hure buckwheat (库伦荞麦) is a national geographical-indication product, and the banner calls itself China's home of buckwheat culture. The culture and tourism bureau presents buckwheat hele noodles (荞麦饸饹面) as the taste of Hure: the grain is stone-milled, kneaded by hand and pressed through a hele press into even noodles. They are served with a choice of toppings such as pickled cabbage, celery, potherb mustard, tofu or green pepper, finished with spring onion and a spoon of hot oil.

Highlights

• Three Temples of Hure 库伦三大寺: Qing lamaseries in Kulun town; national protected site since 2006 and 4A scenic area since 2010.
• Xingyuan Temple 兴源寺: Begun in 1649; main hall with 61 gilded dragon columns, now a museum.
• Tamin Chagan desert 塔敏查干: East-west sands crossing the banner; the name is glossed as 'devil's sand'.
• Buckwheat hele noodles 荞麦饸饹面: Stone-milled buckwheat pressed into noodles and served with pickled-cabbage, tofu or pepper toppings.