China marks International Museum Day with multiple exhibitions, activities

Museums across China have launched multiple exhibitions and activities to mark International Museum Day (IMD), which fell on May 18, bringing audiences a cultural feast.

Photo shows a terracotta warrior. (People's Daily Online/Wei Yanxing)

Under the theme of this year's IMD, "The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine”, the Capital Museum of China in Beijing, the main venue for the country's celebrations, held a special exhibition on China's achievements in the field of cultural heritage preservation.

The exhibition brought together more than 50 cultural relics, including terracotta warriors, from 23 cultural heritage institutions and museums nationwide to showcase China's latest practices and progress in cultural heritage protection and restoration. The exhibition also introduced the latest preservation methods and technologies.

The exhibition adopted augmented reality technology to produce a combination of virtual scenes and real cultural relics, said Luo Jing, deputy director of the department of museum development under the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

A visitor views a woodcarving work of the People's Liberation Army crossing the Yangtze River in 1949 at a museum in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province. (People's Daily Online/Ma Xiaonan)

In addition to the main venue events, other museums and art institutions also rolled out a series of creative activities to enrich public interaction and allow visitors to reimagine their museum experience.

The Quanzhou Maritime Museum in Quanzhou city, southeast China’s Fujian province, held a series of fun activities, including whisking tea, a popular method of tea preparation in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), bringing the audience back to the era and impressing them with the elegance and beauty of Chinese culture from 900 years ago.

To attract more visitors, some museums also held exhibitions outside their exhibition halls. The Archaeological Site Museum of Nanyue Palace in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, launched an exhibition at the Yuexiu Park station of Guangzhou Metro Line 2 on May 15.

Visitors browse an exhibition organized by the Archaeological Site Museum of Nanyue Palace in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, at a subway station in the city. (People's Daily Online/Ma Xiaonan)

“When I heard about it, I visited the exhibition at the subway station at the first opportunity,” said a college student in the city surnamed Tang, who loves to visit historical and cultural sites, as well as museums.

He told People’s Daily Online that exhibitions of fans and decorative porcelains were previously held at the Yuexiu Park station. “The exhibition mode is quite good, as it allows people to learn about the long-standing history and culture of Guangzhou during our commutes,” he added.

Meanwhile, many museums, including about 10 in Beijing, extended their business hours and launched a diverse range of nighttime exhibitions and cultural activities, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the cultural relics. The Capital Museum of China held an interactive nighttime event showcasing cultural relics on May 18.

Some museums also adopted new exhibition modes to improve the interactive experience. On the same day, the Henan Museum in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan province, staged ancient Chinese music concerts while showcasing the restoration of ancient music relics, music scores, and costumes.