Tibetan yak museum sparks craze in Beijing

The interior of the Yak Museum of Tibet [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The curator of the world's first yak museum sparked a Tibetan cultural craze when he visited Peking University on Mar 13 to give a two-hour lecture.

Wu Yuchu, curator of the Yak Museum of Tibet, introduced the social and cultural significance of the animal to Tibetan people and recalled his long yet fruitful journey in creating the museum.

Wu started planning four years ago when he worked in Tibet as a supporting cadre. Since the second half of 2011, he and his team have been on a journey across many regions locating exhibits. Their search covered Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces as well as Tibet. Driving tens of thousands of kilometers, they received enormous support from experts, artists, businessmen and locals. The Yak Museum of Tibet opened in Lhasa in May last year.

Yaks, as the earliest animals domesticated by Tibetans, have played an essential role over thousands of years in fields including transportation, agriculture, medicinal science, culture and art. For Tibetan people, the yak is not only essential to life but also belief and faith.

With a building area of more than 8,000 square meters and thousands of exhibits, the museum demonstrates Tibetan culture and history from a unique perspective.