At home in China's museums

The newly opened Chengdu Museum is hosting an exhibition on Emperor Qianlong.

"China is the country with the fastest growth in museums," Duan Yong, director of the museum department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said during the expo.

"The country is marching to become a strong power in terms of museums, but there's still much to be done."

According to Duan, there were 4,692 registered museums on the Chinese mainland by the end of 2015, with the industry employing some 90,000 people. About 20,000 exhibitions were staged in the country's museums last year, attracting 700 million visitors. About 85 percent of the museums are open to the public for free.

"Most museums have realized that they are seen as institutions of academic research and education and not just exhibition venues," says Duan. "But the development of museums is not balanced in China."

According to him, there are some 1,000 counties, mostly in western China, that still have no museums.

"In spite of the fast growth, our focus needs to be switched to more specialized and grassroots museums," he says.

"And the sharing of resources among different museums will become a trend. It will be the way to enhance communication and make full use of collections."

For example, Henan Museum in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, has been promoting public education about museums in poverty-stricken regions not only in the province but also in western China.