From Rapid Development to a Digital Landscape — A Timeline of Chinese Museums
Part 3: A Digital Future
“The collection of relics in archaeology and museums in China has entered the top level in the world, and I believe we will achieve more in other aspects. This great heritage will further boost our national cultural confidence.” Zhang Yuancheng, curator of the Shanxi Museum
Over the past 20 years, the state of Chinese museums has undergone a remarkable transformation. China now has the fourth most museums of any country, second only to the United States, Japan, and Germany.
Along with the construction of thousands of new museums in the 21st century alone, China has subsidized archaeological and artistic ventures to fill these cultural instructions with valuable artifacts. These cultural relics symbolize a merge of China’s past and present — they are both vestiges of the most developed early civilization and an indication that China’s actions have positioned themselves to become the forefront of global culture.
When Covid-19 struck the world in early 2020, China’s museums took a hit, but not for long. Although more than 5,000 Chinese museums announced they were closing to the public within 24 hours after the pandemic was officially recognized, they remained closed for an average of only 30 days. That year, they launched more than 29,000 exhibitions.
Meanwhile, most global museums lost almost 60 percent of their income as they struggled to make ends meet from behind doors unopen to visitors for half a year or more.
The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, did not see a single visitor last year from March to the end of July, an unfortunate contrast to China’s newly reopened museums and progress with the pandemic.
The Covid-19 Response: Online Exhibitions
The shortest lockdown period worldwide during a time of global uncertainty is impressive, but China’s museums proved noteworthy for another reason. During their brief lockdown, museums in China seized the opportunity to reach people in a new way: online.
Many museums already had incorporated virtual elements into their collections, but a special meeting held by the National Cultural Heritage Administration asking museums and galleries throughout the country to submit 360-degree images of their exhibits was the push many other museums needed to digitize.
One aim of the meeting was to “encourage cultural heritage museums and institutions around the country to utilize existing digital resources and launch online exhibitions as appropriate,” and that it did — museums uploaded hundreds of online collections to the NCHA’s centralized portal, a space for citizens to access acclaimed cultural works all in one place.
One such exhibit is the Beijing National Museum’s “The Journey Back Home: An Exhibition of Chinese Artifacts Repatriated from Italy.” The virtual tour is available for viewers to get a close look at a complete, carefully curated online collection, even allowing them to zoom into art works and their labels for a better understanding. The exhibit is available in multiple languages, an encouraging gesture to foreigners curious about the Chinese art scene.
Success of Digital Initiatives
The recent digitization of many Chinese collections not only speak for China’s technological feats, but for its cultural ones, too. China went from having only a few hundred museums in 1978 to over 5,000. During the peak of the Covid-19 lockdown, its museums received hundreds of millions of online visitors, a clear sign that the 400,000 available digitized exhibits were striking the interest of Chinese citizens, even from the confines of their homes.
What’s more is that just 20 years ago, the vast majority of Chinese artists were barely on the radar, let alone at the center of a globally respected digital initiative. Exhibits like “The Journey Back Home” mark just one of many opportunities for Chinese culture to be accessed by a worldwide audience.
Chinese museums are now receiving international praise. In an online speech, Alberto Garlandi, vice president of the International Council of Museums, expressed his appreciation for the successful and long-term collaboration between the organization and Chinese museums, even calling for “museums around the world to join hands to promote the development of cultural diversity.”
The Return to Museums: Augmented Reality Exhibits
Museums in China aren’t just creating digital exhibitions. They are also incorporating into their physical ones the interactive components that make a virtual exhibit so compelling. The significant interest in digital exhibitions has only motivated cultural institutions to rethink what the museum experience looks like for visitors.
Plans for augmented reality, a technology that combines the real world with the virtual by superimposing a digital image onto a tangible setting, have entered the radar of many Chinese museums. Some have already implemented AR elements into their collections, so far with great success.
Visitors to the Liangzhu Museum in Hangzhou City who wear a pair of AR glasses provided by the museum can watch exhibits on archaeological ruins come alive. As museum-goers look at each exhibit, the glasses provide visual details and explanations. Small, otherwise unobtrusive details on discs and pottery appear to emerge in midair while accompanying audio explains their significance.
“I’ve never seen this before. The illustration of the ancient wild boar above is not that clear and not evocative. But with the AR glasses, I know exactly what the ancient wild boar looks like and how different it is from what we see on TV,” said Rong Mei, a visitor in her twenties.
And the capabilities of augmented reality go far beyond giving a better understanding of artworks. AR can display digital versions of artists, settings relevant to the present artwork, or even the tools used to make it. This additional information visually provides the real-world understanding that can only be had with the context of artworks’ cultural connotations.
The Future of Chinese Museums: A Middle Ground
China’s rapid evolution from a state lacking museums and institutions into a digitally advanced global model has proved that the cultural landscape is changing into one that favors virtual elements. But is that a good thing?
Some argue that the physical museum offers a pure experience that the digital cannot. Others believe that it is more than time for museums to set their focus on the modern generation.
If China’s fast development and reaction to Covid-19 has shown us anything, though, it is that the best museums will do both. Digital exhibits provide access for people to visit museums due to their physical location or unpredictable circumstances like the pandemic. In-person exhibits offer a tangible option for those who want a more down-to-earth experience, and augmented reality reimagines the physical museum environment without undermining it.
Technology is meant to enhance, and I have no doubt that by incorporating online exhibits, augmented and virtual reality, and even NFTs in the future, Chinese museums will only continue to ameliorate their cultural experiences.
