Photo courtesy to People's Daily

Masters in The Forbidden City, a well-known Chinese documentary screened in 2016, kindled many people’s enthusiasm for the restoration of cultural relics and aroused public attention on museums and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Earlier in February, some 30 Chinese teens were selected from across the country to learn restoration techniques of cultural relics in the Palace Museum under the guidance of true masters. Many antiques and cultural relics, which used to be covered with dust and buried in darkness for who knows how long, could be glowing again after restoration.

The zeal of museology among post-2000s is an expectation of many people and is also praised by many people.

“The excitement of restoration of cultural relics lies on the conversation you have with the broken pieces when you make them complete. Also, the process of discovering historical secrets and learning history when restoring cultural relics is another attractive moment,” said Guo Hanzhong, a bronze repair specialist who works at Sanxingdui Museum in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province.

“Cultural Relic Hospital” is how researchers describe their Cultural Relics Restoration Center in the Palace Museum. And being a “cultural relic doctor” is no easy task, as it requires specialty knowledge in materials science, chemistry, 3D technology, and so on.

Photo courtesy to Tencent Video

Amid the rising enthusiasm, some companies have also rolled out their innovative ideas to inspire more of the public to participate in the protection of cultural relics.

For example, Tencent Video, a video platform of Chinese internet giant Tencent, created a mobile web page to let users restore cultural relics, such as a broken bronze head sculpture with a golden mask from 3,500 years ago, in just a few clicks.

The game-like experience was created to arouse people’s curiosity on the process of restoration and encourage them to visit museums in order to explore the charm of history.

In recent years, the number of museum-goers has surged, as rising public enthusiasm toward cultural relics reaches a record high. In 2017, Chinese museums received a total of 971 million visits, among which, the Palace Museum received 17 million visitors, setting a new world record.