The opening ceremony of the 2025 International Museum Day in China was held on the morning of the 18th at the Grand Canal Museum in Beijing. At the opening ceremony, the National Cutural Heritage Administration released the Report on the Development of China's Museums (2024), sharing the latest data on the development of China's museums in 2024. The report shows that by the end of 2024, there were 7046 registered museums, an increase of 213 from the previous year, achieving one museum per 200000 people and a free admission rate of 91.46%; The museum's collection is even more abundant, with a total of 67.413 million pieces (sets); Exhibition education and open services are widely popular, with over 40000 exhibitions and 510000 educational activities held in 2024, receiving 1.49 billion visitors. The theme of this year's Museum Day is "The Future of Museums in a Rapidly Changing Society". Rao Quan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the National Cutural Heritage Administration, said that at present, the world culture is surging and showing a new trend, the development of Chinese civilization has put forward new topics, the construction of a cultural power has entered a new stage, and social ideology and culture have shown new characteristics. Based on a new historical starting point, we must adhere to upholding integrity and innovation, uphold the position of Chinese culture, and actively shoulder the cultural mission of promoting cultural prosperity, building a cultural powerhouse, and constructing modern civilization of the Chinese nation. At the opening ceremony, the top ten exhibition masterpieces of national museums for 2024 and the list of the most innovative museums in China for 2025 were also released. The "Development Report of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park Museum" was also released, and the "Civilization Bridge Plan - Cultural Relics Export Exhibition Boutique" project was launched. The signing ceremony for the Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance to settle in Beijing was held, and the "Origin of Chinese Civilization Series - See Yin Shang Exhibition" was unveiled. The main venue of the 2025 International Museum Day in China will last from May 17th to 19th. In addition to the opening ceremony, supporting events such as themed forums, youth forums, curator forums, and museum nights will be held. Bai Chong, Director of the Museum Department of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage, introduced that Beijing will set a theme every month from May 18th to October 8th to build a multi-dimensional cultural platform of "museum+technology/cultural creativity/education" and create a new scene for urban cultural consumption. Since 2009, the National Cutural Heritage Administration and the provincial people's government have jointly hosted the main venue of the International Museum Day in China, which has been successfully held for 17 consecutive sessions. In addition to Beijing, various regions across the country have also carried out rich activities around the theme of International Museum Day. It is reported that the main venue for the 2026 International Museum Day in China will be held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the China Museum and Related Products and Technology Expo will be held in Haikou, Hainan Province. (New Society)