Museums, art galleries get sought-after during May Day holiday

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- During this year's May Day holiday, more and more Chinese tourists are adding destinations such as museums and art galleries to their itinerary, suggesting an upward trend in China's domestic cultural tourism sector.

A female surnamed Dong is among the country's traditional culture fanatics. She was in charge of arranging her family's tour from Langfang, north China's Hebei Province, to the Chinese capital of Beijing during the five-day holiday. The tour's highlights included visiting the signature Palace Museum dressed in ancient costumes and seeing the national treasures at the National Museum of China with their own eyes.

On the last day of the May Day holiday, Dong took her child to a niche museum in Beijing, the eastern suburbs exhibition hall of China Railway Museum.

They took photos with the abandoned station platforms and all kinds of locomotives, and her child enjoyed a small steam train ride while learning more about the history of China's railway development. Cuddling his favourite toy, a Transformer-like train man, the young boy felt fully satisfied by the time they departed for their journey home.

As the first May Day holiday after the country optimized its epidemic response measures, cultural tourist attractions, especially museums and art galleries, have become a hot new trend.

Local residents and tourists from afar shuttled between all kinds of museums, wandering in various exhibitions, busy watching rarities from all over the world and experiencing tangible and intangible cultural exchanges in ancient and modern times between home and abroad.

Data collected by multiple museums show that the number of visitors during the holiday rebounded above the pre-COVID level recorded during the same period of 2019. On the first day of the May Day holiday, the top 10 scenic spots in Beijing in terms of the visitor numbers included several cultural tourist attractions: Qianmen Street, the Summer Palace, Nanluogu Lane, the Temple of Heaven, the Beihai Park and the Old Summer Palace, or "Yuanmingyuan."

Cultural institutions were also a preferred choice for those seeking a relaxed and enjoyable holiday experience.

During the just-concluded May Day holiday, museums and art galleries all over China teamed up with foreign counterparts to make their exhibits more innovative and attractive, with almost a panoramic view of the worldwide cultural treasures on offer.

Digital technologies also helped give visitors a more immersive experience, adding a strong impetus to the cultural and art craze in China.

A retrospective exhibition named "Parallel Space -- Meet the Terracotta Warriors in Greece" digitally presents the past archaeological achievements collected and preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the archaeological sites of Terracotta Warriors, and a relevant cultural relics protection laboratory of China.

With the help of digital technologies, visitors in Shougang Park in western Beijing can see the ancient warriors stand face to face with the statue of Kroisos Kouros, seemingly having a "dialogue" across time and space.

As China's night economy continues to heat up, some museums extended their opening hours and even remained open at night during the holiday.

More than 30 museums in Beijing alone, such as the Capital Museum and China Railway Museum, stayed open late during the holiday. Many famous architectures in the city held related nighttime activities, allowing visitors to appreciate the ancient buildings' special beauty against the night sky.

From Monday to Wednesday, Beijing held a bazaar selling all kinds of cultural and creative products from over 40 museums in the city, highlighting a collaboration between time-honored brands and new fashion forms.

"Beijing is rich in museum resources, so I choose to visit the bazaar during the holiday with my classmates. I've collected multiple museum seals today. Each of the seals is a cultural imprint for me," said Ma Hualin, a graduate student in Beijing University of Chemical Technology, who participated in the event on Monday.

A visitor surnamed Zheng traveled from south China's metropolis of Guangzhou all the way to Beijing. After a one-day tour at the Civil Aviation Museum, Zheng took his family to the bazaar on Monday. Luckily, he guessed correctly about an aircraft model on display according to rough descriptions during an on-site interactive activity, winning a comic postcard of the plane.

"My son likes to study all kinds of planes and thus I took him to the bazaar, hoping to help broaden his horizons," Zheng said.

"Now, the society pays great attention to museums, and the number of people who like to visit museums is expanding. People of different ages visit museums for diversified purposes, such as viewing exhibitions, listening to lectures, participating in social and educational activities or simply shopping," said Gu Ying, deputy director with the White Pagoda Temple administrative office.

Gu added that the cultural and creative products have also prompted Chinese youngsters to favor museums.

"Museums are an important force to inspire wisdom for a better life, promote social well-being and build a sustainable future. Behind the cultural tourism craze is the public's discovery and recognition of the historical and cultural value of the museums," said Bai Chong, director of the museum division of Beijing municipal bureau of cultural heritage.