Museums across China launched themed exhibitions and a series of cultural activities during the just-concluded Spring Festival, garnering more than 72 million visits in the eight-day holiday season.
The Spring Festival, marking the start of the Chinese New Year, is the most important public holiday in China. The official Spring Festival holiday season this year ran from January 28 to February 4.
According to preliminary statistics from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from the first to the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, namely from January 29 to February 4, museums across the country received 72,648,700 visits, with the average daily number of visits exceeding 10 million, an increase of 12.84 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year.
In Shenyang City of northeast China's Liaoning Province, the Liaoning Provincial Museum handled 116,400 visits during the holiday, an increase of 19.33 percent over the same period of last year. The highlight of the museum is an 8,000-year-old cylindrical pottery jar which has the earliest known snake pattern in China's history.
The Chinese Archaeological Museum in Beijing launched an exhibition showcasing the achievements in scientific research in archaeology and heritage protection, focusing on ancient pottery and jade wares unearthed. The exhibition displays more than 100 important cultural relics including painted pottery of Majiayao culture, an ancient Chinese culture dating back more than 5,000 years.
The National Museum launched a New Year cultural exhibition, which includes the display of national treasure Fu Hao's owl-shaped zun, a Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC), and other cultural relics closely related to the Spring Festival.
"The snake pattern on the owl's wings symbolizes a skyrocketing force which gives it more power," said Zhuge Yingliang, an associate research curator at the National Museum of China.
In Zhengzhou City of central China's Henan Province, the Henan Provincial Museum launched special performances featuring the play of ancient music using bone flutes and chime bells restored from cultural relics, and the hall of every performance was packed with visitors.
"The performances give us a refreshing feeling. For children, the resonance has further stimulated their interest in history and culture. This trip is very worthwhile," said Wang Minyi, a visitor at the museum.
During the holiday, museums across the country also adopted new measures to facilitate visits, including extending opening hours and increasing the number of cultural lecture sessions.
Chinese museums attract visitors with special exhibitions, performances during Spring Festival
