Red Museum of the Intellectual Youth Town, Hailai County

📍 Address: 60 meters west of the Veteran Service Station, Taipingbao Village, Tumu Town, Hailai County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province

🏛️ Historical Background

The Red Museum of the Intellectual Youth Town in Hailai County is a thematic memorial hall established against the historical backdrop of the "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside" movement from the 1960s to the 1970s. The site was originally an old residence and workplace for intellectual youth stationed in rural Hailai, serving as one of the key settlement points for educated youths from Beijing and Tianjin. In 2018, with support from the Veterans Affairs Department, it was spontaneously developed by local villagers who systematically collected personal belongings, manuscripts, photographs, and labor tools from the youth period, restoring the historical memory of a generation that rooted themselves in the countryside and contributed to frontier development.

🏘️ Architectural Features

The museum building follows a typical northern agrarian village courtyard layout, preserving the original brick-wood residential style. It features gray-tiled roofs and rammed-earth walls, reflecting architectural characteristics of North China’s rural areas during the 1960s and 1970s. Inside, the museum includes a main exhibition hall, a recreated living area for the intellectual youth, a document archive room, and an interactive experience zone. The overall design is simple yet solemn, blending historical authenticity with educational value.

📜 Collections and Exhibits

The museum houses over 300 artifacts, including:

• Handwritten diaries of the intellectual youth (some original documents)
• Work team time records from the 1970s
• Labor tools such as hand-operated spinning wheels, shovels, and hoes
• Various ration coupons for grain, cloth, and cooking oil used at the time
• Group photos and performance stills taken during the youth resettlement period

Exhibits are centered around the theme “No Regrets in Youth – Rooted in the Earth,” presenting through a combination of text, images, video, and physical objects the indomitable spirit and grassroots dedication of the intellectual youth amid harsh conditions.

🌟 Cultural Significance

As one of the few specialized museums on the intellectual youth movement in North China, this institution fills a critical gap in regional red cultural heritage. It serves as a vital tangible resource for studying contemporary social transformation, evolving urban-rural relations, and the history of youth ideals in China. Designated as a patriotic education base in Hailai County in 2021, the museum welcomes over ten thousand visitors annually, including students, party members, and study-travel groups.

🚶 Visitor Information

• Opening Hours: 9:00–17:00, Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays)
• Admission: Free of charge
• Transportation: Take the bus from Hailai County to Tumu Town, get off at Taipingbao Village stop, then walk 5 minutes
• Recommended Visit Duration: 1.5 hours
• Contact: 0313-6461123 (forwarded by Hailai County Bureau of Culture and Tourism)

✨ Visitor Note: Please remain quiet, respect the exhibits, and do not touch displayed items.