The Heilan Horse Culture Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to living horses. It’s also part palace for some of the world’s most beautiful horses from around the world.
What is the Heilan Horse Culture Museum?
Located in Jiangyin City, China, outside of Shanghai, the museum shows off 43 breeds of horses from 30 different countries. Horses come from China, Germany, Turkmenistan, and Spain, for example. The roughly 300 horses live in glamorous marble stables – and are even a few zebras on site.
According to Atlas Obscura (cited below): “The horses on display are “dressed” for the occasion. Some of their manes are braided, or styled in ripples or waves. The horses live in proper stables, but are displayed in luxurious marble pens to greet visitors. The palatial museum is decorated with chandeliers, carpeted grand staircases, amazing statues, gold ceilings, and a shopping mall.”
Visiting the horse museum
The museum is located half an hour north of Shanghai as part of an effort by Chinese menswear company Heilan Group to build a “Luxury Town” for tourists.
In 2015, the museum’s Heilan Equestrian Club broke the Guinness World Record for the largest horse dressage, which included “30 black horses, 30 white horses, and a riding team of all women.”
The museum was built in 2009 and offers not only performances and competitions by training. Iin fact, it was the first comprehensive training facility in China, according to Atlas Obscura.
The museum didn’t open to the public until 2016. It also includes many caretakers for the horses, including on-site veterinarians. Visitors can not only see the well cared for horses, but learn about the development of the species and how horses have played a role in human civilization. — WTF fun facts