Some Sierra Leonean products in the National Museum of China

The National Museum of China has committed itself to help African Countries attracts much investment in the tourism and cultural sectors, Deputy Director and Researcher of the museum, Bai Yuntao told Journalists on Thursday.

Although African Countries have not enjoyed much collaboration with the Chinese Museum, Officials have pledged to help African Countries through several exhibitions that will enable the continent promotes its art and culture in the face of the world. “We have not got much collaboration with African Countries but we have lots of African wooden masks in our museum and have organized lots of exchange visits for experience sharing,” says Bai Yuntao.

The Exhibition of Selected African Sculptures, including Sierra Leone in the Collection of the National Museum of China displays more than 600 artworks selected from the African sculptures donated by Mr. Xie Yanshen, including statues, masks, cresting and articles for daily use. The exhibits are mostly from Central Africa and West Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. They boast diverse types and styles, and are full of realism and appropriate exaggeration as well as strong rhythm, which will impress the audience with a touching primitive and rugged beauty.

African sculpture is not only a form of art, but also a means for achieving harmony between human, nature and society, which has a close connection with traditional African religion, morality and ethics, and living customs. They will deepen Chinese people’s understanding of this art form that combines different African tribes’ diligence and intelligence and the mysterious time-honoured African customs and culture, and will promote the cultural exchanges between China and Africa and the development of the two cultures.

National Museum of China

The National Museum holds the country's most important historical objects. Through China's History Exhibition, these are shown to visitors from both inside and outside China, to display the long history and shining civilization of the Chinese people. At the same time, the museum undertakes education projects, archaeological excavations and scientific research.

The National Museum of China is located at the east side of Tiananmen Square, opposite the Great Hall of the People. It was founded in February 2003, based on the merging of two previous museums, namely the National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution. The museum, an integrated national museum under the Ministry of Culture of China, draws equally from both history and art and is dedicated to its collections, exhibitions, research, archeology, public education and cultural communication. Its basic functions are collections of cultural relics and artworks, exhibitions, public education, history and art research and cultural communication.

The National Museum, which has 48 galleries, is visited by over seven million people annually, and serves as a coordinating centre to visit 3, 800 other public and 4, 000 private Museums across the country.

It is widely known for participating in international exhibitions where the Chinese culture and history are well showcased. It also organize an average of ten exhibitions annually.

“We provide museum tour for tourists and the general public and also hold education programs for students, school pupils and the public,” said the deputy director, adding that African countries should be prepared enough to collaborate with China to boost the art, culture and tourism industry.

Abu Bakarr Kargbo is a Senior Staff Writer of Standard Times Newspaper in Sierra Leone and an Intern at People’s Daily Online.