Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) — The number of visits to China’s museums last year exceeded 1.4 billion, hitting a new all-time high, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, demonstrating that the role of museums in Chinese people’s cultural life continues to grow day by day.
On International Museum Day, celebrated on May 18, museums across China offer various special programs, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the charm of cultural heritage.
The theme of this year’s event is “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.” Driven by technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and virtual reality (VR), the world’s museums are undergoing a profound digital transformation that is not only changing the visitor experience but also reshaping the way museums operate.
As noted in the 2024 report of the International Council of Museums /ICOM/, more than 78 percent of museums in the world have included AI technologies in their development programs, with the main scenarios for the application of such technologies being the digitalization of cultural resources and “smart” excursion systems.
A striking example in this regard is the Shanxi Museum. There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Shanxi Province /Northern China/, and the museum’s collection includes more than 650,000 items and sets of cultural relics.
Using high-precision 3D scanning to preserve and virtually restore details of archaeological artifacts, the Shanxi Museum has created a digital archive of more than 200,000 cultural relics. This multimodal database, containing graphics, texts, images, and spectral analysis, is open to archaeological research institutions to support interdisciplinary research.
Digital technologies such as VR and augmented reality (AR) help visitors have an immersive experience. When scanning a bronze tripod in the museum with a mobile phone, the process of casting similar items in the Jin Kingdom during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) immediately appears on the display.
At another exhibition at the museum, 500,000 people who visited the exhibition online were able to use a VR-enabled device to interact with figures on a mural dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) and take part in a virtual archaeological excavation.
Technological innovations have restructured the channels of dialogue between the public and cultural heritage. The conductor of this process is not only the impressions of a particular exhibition, but also the physical creative products of the cultural industry.
More and more people in China, especially young people, want to have a valuable experience when visiting a museum, so the demand for cultural products related to the museum and its exhibits continues to grow.
A rare fridge magnet developed by the National Museum of China (NMC) in Beijing became a best-selling item last year thanks to its exquisite craftsmanship. The miniature souvenir delicately features the phoenix crown of an empress of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which is in the museum’s collection. In the six months since its launch in July 2024, 800,000 copies have been sold, pushing NMC’s total sales of cultural products in the second half of last year to 10 million yuan (approximately US$1.39 million).
In addition to the usual wooden fridge magnet, the developers also created an AR version. After scanning, a virtual image of the crown appears on the top of the person’s head, as if he or she were wearing it.
It is noteworthy that many buyers take pictures with the scarce magnet and publish the photos on social networks, which arouses the interest of other people directly to the cultural relic itself, in front of which visitors even have to stand in long lines in order to admire it.
The magnet craze has inspired designers to create new products, including notepads, makeup mirrors, badges and even ice cream sticks, demonstrating that elements of traditional culture have found their way into modern life in innovative ways.
According to the Beijing city authorities, the first museum season will be held in the Chinese capital from this year’s International Museum Day until October 8, and July will be dedicated to creative products of the cultural industry.
The city then plans to hold various events, such as competitions and fairs of creative products of the cultural industry, campaigns to stimulate the consumption of such goods, etc. Such steps, according to experts, will contribute to the dissemination and development of culture.
Technological advances are giving museums the opportunity to enhance public engagement and experience and improve operational efficiency, analysts say.
They expressed their hope that museums would play a unique role in promoting social inclusion, stimulating cultural vitality and promoting sustainable development through technological innovation, youth participation and social interaction. -0-