China’s museums launch online exhibitions amid epidemic

2020-02-12

China’s museums have rolled out a series of online exhibitions for people to enjoy a cultural feast after being forced to temporarily close their doors as a result of the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The country’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) has asked museums to maintain an active social media presence and offer their services digitally. According to the NCHA, museums across the country launched over 2,000 online exhibitions during the Spring Festival.

The NCHA has also released information related to 3.5 million precious cultural relics on its official website, and guided cultural institutions and museums around the country to provide the public with more online services.

The National Museum of China has offered about 50 special exhibition webpages, over 30 virtual exhibition halls, 30 videos of experts’ explanations and over 20 promotional videos of online exhibitions for stay-at-home visitors.

Beijing’s world-famous Palace Museum has also opened its doors to virtual galleries. The virtual tour named Panoramic Palace Museum allows travelers to roam around all the major places of interest within the historical treasure. A button on the top left-hand corner allows users to switch between a sunny blue sky background and a snowy background.

Online tourists can also visit 500 museums in China through a mini-program on WeChat, a popular social media platform from the country’s Internet giant Tencent. In addition to panoramic exhibition halls and audio guides, visitors can also zoom in to hundreds of boutique collections, including the Terracotta Warriors at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

These new online resources offer culture seekers an opportunity to experience museums in less visited cities. Industry insiders believe that online exhibitions will promote the spread of fine traditional Chinese culture through the application of new Internet technologies.

People's Daily Online