During the just passed National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, the "museum craze" continued to heat up. Many tourists flock to cities for a museum, and museums around the world have also innovated exhibition methods, launched colorful activities, and extended opening hours to respond to the needs of the masses. Since the first public museum was built in 1905, China's museum industry has gone through 120 years. What has time given to museums? The accumulation of history, the witness of civilization. What has the museum evolved into again? The "second classroom" that nourishes the public, the "museum+" that integrates into life... Let us see through the password for China's museum industry to usher in the best historical period and accelerate growth from a 120 year old museum, a "museum city" that integrates museums and cities, and a renowned cultural IP both at home and abroad. ——Editor's note: "Returning to Youth" at a 120 year old museum - Walking into the museum, opening a "second classroom". Walking into the Nantong Museum in Jiangsu, the "Jianghai Ancient Charm" exhibition hall and the huge "Boiling the Sea for Salt" central exhibition area immerse the audience in vivid on-site explanations. These cultural relics are called 'pan iron', which were tools for ancient salt frying... "Rong Yuzheng, a junior high school student and" little guide "at the museum, explained the ancient salt frying process in detail. Due to a study abroad experience, Rong Yu fell in love with cultural relics and later signed up for training and became a volunteer guide. The study tour activities and the 'Little Explainer' training are both inheritions and innovations of the 'integration of museums and gardens' concept at Nantong Museum, as well as extensions and supplements to school education, making the museum a better' second classroom 'that nourishes the public. ”Du Jiale, Secretary and Director of the Party Branch of Nantong Museum, introduced that the museum has always adhered to the integration of indoor exhibitions and outdoor practices, allowing more people to receive cultural nourishment. 120 years ago, educator and industrialist Zhang Jian carved the original appearance of Chinese museums here - integrating Chinese style gardens with modern museum concepts to achieve the integration of museums and gardens, with the aim of "establishing schools as schools for education and recognizing the names of birds, animals, plants, and trees". As the first public museum established by Chinese people, Nantong Museum emphasizes both inheritance and innovation. In 1988, the Museum was included in the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units; In 2008, it was selected as one of the first national first-class museums; In 2021, it was awarded the title of "National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base". The strength of a country is based on autonomy, the foundation of autonomy lies in industrial education... "Walking into the exhibition hall, the audience, who had just been immersed in the story of modern industrial civilization, suddenly" rushed "into the performance of the historical play" Encountering You Through Time and Space ". Teachers and students engage in a "time and space dialogue" with Mr. Zhang Jian, allowing the audience to understand their patriotism and feel spiritual immersion. Zhou Yan, director of the Social Education Center of the Social Service Department of Nantong Museum, introduced that all 32 characters in the play are played by teenagers, and everyone can better understand historical culture and receive patriotic education during rehearsals and performances. Over the past two years, the drama has been performed in more than 50 shows, attracting over 10000 audiences both online and offline. After years of prosperity, Nantong Museum has become a beloved "second classroom" and "cultural park" among the public. Nowadays, Nantong Museum has a collection of about 50000 cultural relics and nearly 500 species of plants. In 2024, the museum will receive over 1.25 million visitors. In recent years, the museum has continued to enrich social education activities, innovate expression methods, and hold science popularization exhibitions such as "Natural Specimen Exhibition in the Garden Collection" and "Entering Insects", allowing visitors to recognize the "names of plants and trees" during their visit to the museum; Carry out research activities such as "Zhang Jian's Patriotic Education Thought Theme Tour" and "Exploring the Origins of Jianghai Civilization" to open up a "second classroom" for young people; Organize training and practical activities such as "Little Explainers" and "Little Science Popularization Officers" to sow the seeds of advocating science and loving the motherland in children's hearts. The refinement of a world-class cultural IP - bringing Dunhuang culture back home. During the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, the Dunhuang Museum in Gansu Province is crowded with people, with Hu people holding camels carved with the Silk Road imprint, and the weathered Beiliang Stone Pagoda... The rich exhibition of cultural relics attracts visitors from all over the world. Inside the museum, visitors can see cultural relics and experience history, while outside the museum, Dunhuang culture can also be felt and understood. The silk scarf with the pattern of three rabbits sharing ears and the coffered patterned bag are irresistible to tourists. Ms. Zhang, a tourist from Tianjin, said, "It turns out that 'Dunhuang' can still be worn on the body, which is very fashionable." The beauty of cultural relics in museums has become a cultural IP, enriching cultural formats and entering people's daily lives. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Dunhuang Printing Bureau not far from the museum welcomed many tourists as soon as it opened. In the seal area, Dunhuang element seals are neatly arranged one by one, and tourists line up to stamp exquisite patterns on the seal book. Traditional rubbings are relatively monotonous, so we have set up pulleys, colored sand bottles, and copper bell sound effects to make stamping more immersive. ”Designer Yao Yanbei, born in the 1990s, said that the team selected elements from over 800 Dunhuang murals and sculptures, and designed more than 300 stamps in three series: Flying Apsaras, Auspicious Beasts, and Architecture. "Young people are no longer simply 'visiting here', but bringing Dunhuang culture back home through this way." Handmade embroidery, refrigerator stickers, and various cultural and creative products are dazzling. The Dunhuang Printing Bureau, which began trial operation in September last year, has become a check-in place for tourists to experience Dunhuang cultural IP. In 2016, Dunhuang Culture and Tourism Group formed a professional team to promote the development of Dunhuang cultural IP, constantly innovating from physical products to immersive spaces. In recent years, Dunhuang City has collaborated with relevant units to create performing arts productions such as "Seeing Dunhuang Again" and "Music Moving Dunhuang", expanding new forms of cultural IP. Museums cannot be 'cold and aloof', we explore using IP to tell the story of cultural relics. ”According to Shi Mingxiu, the director of Dunhuang Museum, the museum officially launched cultural and creative products in 2019. Nowadays, IP design has expanded to 8 categories including clothing and accessories, and the "Dunhuang style" continues to emerge. Shi Mingxiu said, "To protect Dunhuang culture, we need to make the cultural connotations in cultural relics popular and make more young people truly fall in love with Dunhuang culture." The influence of Dunhuang cultural IP continues to increase, and Dunhuang City Museum collaborates with well-known brands and variety shows to produce content, integrating Dunhuang culture into current life and making it shine even brighter. The development of digital technology helps to break through cultural barriers. In May of this year, at the 4th Civilization Exchange and Mutual Learning Dialogue held in Dunhuang, Tajikistan student Mina experienced the "Exploring Dunhuang" project, admiring the details of cultural relics. "It's so amazing, wearing VR (virtual reality) glasses to watch the murals, I can see them clearly. ”In recent years, Dunhuang Academy has launched digital projects such as the Digital Dunhuang Open Material Library and the "Exploring Dunhuang - Digital Dunhuang Immersive Exhibition", and has released versions in different languages to meet the travel, research, and aesthetic needs of global audiences. Nowadays, Dunhuang cultural IP is gaining popularity overseas in various forms: the Dunhuang coffered pattern "Dunhuang Poetry Scarf" is deeply loved by foreign tourists, the "Silk Road Treasure Civilization Symphony" Dunhuang Grottoes Art Paris Special Exhibition has attracted attention, and the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain" based on Mogao Grottoes murals has toured in more than 40 countries and regions... "To continuously enhance the international influence of Dunhuang cultural IP, we need to not only deeply explore the cultural core, but also build a global dialogue platform. ”Wu Qiongfang, Deputy Director of the Cultural and Creative Research Center of Dunhuang Academy, said that in the future, the diverse charm of Dunhuang culture will be showcased in a more three-dimensional and vivid way. Expansion of a 'Museum City' - In Taiyuan, there are 106 museums of all levels and types that can be encountered at any time, with one museum for every 51000 people - Taiyuan, Shanxi, is a truly 'Museum City'. As of September 30th, the cultural and museum venues directly under the Taiyuan Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau have received 10.2433 million visitors this year, a year-on-year increase of 8.85%. During the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, Taiyuan's cultural and museum venues received 911400 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 2.29%. Taiyuan has a long history, and the Jinyang Ancient City Archaeological Museum, which opened last year, has become the "first stop" for many people to learn about Taiyuan. The Jinyang Ancient City Archaeological Museum is an important part of the Jinyang Ancient City National Archaeological Site Park, where various cultural relics quietly tell the history of Taiyuan. There are actually 'scissor hands' on Tang Dynasty murals! ”In the museum exhibition hall, the mural of Guo Xing's tomb in the Tang Dynasty is a popular exhibit on the internet. The characters in the mural extend two fingers to "bi ye", attracting many viewers. The museum has a distinct feature, which is a strong archaeological flavor. ”Zhao Tao, the director of the Jinyang Ancient City Archaeological Museum, said that the museum will "move" the excavation site into the exhibition hall, regularly hold archaeological themed research and experience activities, and invite 12 experts to voluntarily explain this summer, striving to let the public better experience the charm of archaeology. How to enhance the attractiveness of cultural relics based on abundant cultural resources? Technological means make museums smarter. The Tianlongshan Grottoes Digital Museum features 3D printing and electronic screens that make cultural relics feel three-dimensional, as well as immersive cinemas, holographic imaging and other technologies... The cultural charm reaches the audience directly. The Tianlongshan Grottoes were first excavated during the Eastern Wei Dynasty and are a treasure of ancient Chinese grotto art. In the 1920s, most of the exquisite cultural relics of Tianlongshan Grottoes were lost overseas. The Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum took 6 years to collect over 100 3D data of lost Tianlongshan statues from more than 30 overseas museums, and completed the digital restoration of 11 major caves, achieving the digital return of most of the lost overseas statues. The "Beautiful Tianlong - Digital Restoration Exhibition of Tianlongshan Grottoes" launched by the museum has gone abroad three times, showcasing the magnificent art of Tianlongshan Grottoes to the world. How to expand a 'museum city'? Taiyuan has implemented a program to cultivate museums of various types, encouraging people from all walks of life to participate in museum construction, resulting in the emergence of 65 museums of various types. At the Taiyuan City Memory Museum, more than 2000 exhibits such as the 28/8 bumper bicycles and soap packaging boxes showcase the growth of the city and the changes in citizens' lives. The exhibits in the museum are all donated by citizens and are increasing year by year, "said Huang Shan, the director of Taiyuan Urban Memory Museum. Taiyuan Urban Memory Museum is one of the first batch of museums in Taiyuan city. In recent years, Taiyuan has been committed to creating "small and exquisite" and "small and beautiful" museums around the public. These museums are distributed on the streets, villages, campuses, and scenic spots of the city. Walking around Taiyuan, you may encounter museums at any time. Nowadays, Taiyuan has gradually built a modern museum system with state-owned museums as the main body, industry museums as the backbone, non-state-owned museums as the support, and quasi museums as supplements. The dual improvement of the quantity and quality of museums cannot be achieved without policy support. The "Taiyuan Museum Promotion Regulations" and "Several Measures to Support the High quality Development of Cultural Relics in the New Era in Shanxi Province" have been implemented successively, bringing more impetus to the construction of the "Museum City". Liu Yuwei, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Taiyuan Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, said that the next step is to connect the areas of Taiyuan Prefecture and Ming Taiyuan County into a line and connect them into a cluster of high-quality museums, allowing more people to enter museums and learn about history and culture. (New Society)