culture x 15CONTACT US AT: 8351-9409, YWENNSONG@HOTMAIL.COM

Tuesday May 22, 2018

AS an imperial residence, the Forbidden City, a massive palace complex in central Beijing, has historically been off-limits.

But not anymore. As the most-visited museum in China, it is now leading a crusade to attract millennials to the country’s culturally rich heritage site in unprecedented ways.

On Friday, the museum brought the painting “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival” to life, using 360-degree holo-graphic technology and a 4-D dome screen. The technology enables visitors to immerse themselves in a masterpiece by artist Zhang Zeduan from the North-ern Song Dynasty (960-1127) depicting the daily life of people from all social tiers in the then-prosperous capital Bianliang, today’s Kaifeng in Henan Province.

“Cultural relics are not just lifeless remains. Armed with technology, a paint-ing can take the audience back in history while impressing them with the beauty of the art,” said Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum.

In recent years, the museum has made extra efforts in reaching out to the public with new products, exhibitions, educa-tional resources and digital technology.

Shan said the trend fi t the theme of this year’s International Museum Day: “Hyperconnected museums: new approaches, new public.”

In early 2016, “Masters in the Forbid-den City,” a documentary series featuring the work of the museum’s relics restorers, became a surprise online hit.

The conviction, inner peace and persistence of the technicians made them celebrities among China’s millen-nials. Shan believes the documentary’s popularity was responsible for a surge of applications for jobs with the restora-tion team.

The museum plans to open its res-toration workshop to the public on an appointment basis from June.

Last December, a weekly program “National Treasure,” co-produced by China Central Television, the Palace Museum and eight others, also received phenomenal reception.

“The popularity of the programs sug-gests the public has a strong need to learn more about China’s traditions,” Ren Wanping, deputy director of the Palace Museum, told Xinhua. “The pro-grams met their needs and resonated in their hearts.”

A special guest representing “National Treasure,” Ren said the central narrative of the TV show was about culture.

Last May, the museum exhibited works by four early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) monks, considered some of the greatest painters of the time. Curators built a studio showcasing a Chinese zither, table censer, Buddha statue niche and potted landscape to provide a visual reference for helping visitors better understand the Buddhist literati.

In 2002, only 30 percent of the Forbid-den City was open to the public. Today, more than 85 percent of the complex is accessible and about 20,000 items are on show.

“The numbers of collections and visi-tors keep growing,” Shan said. “But that is not enough. We need to bring the relics in our museums to life and display their unique beauty in innovative ways.”

Youthful enthusiasmTo arouse the enthusiasm of the

country’s younger generation towards preserving cultural heritage, the museum hosts over 25,000 educational events each year, with 200,000 people attending, Shan revealed.

In March 2004, the museum became

Forbidden no more: Palace Museum connects with public in fresh new ways

the fi rst in China to provide free admission and guided tours for middle and primary school student groups. Since 2006, it has been offering vacation lectures and volun-teer positions for students to participate in consultancy or educational programs. The museum website also has a youth section.

“We want young people to understand and inherit China’s splendid traditions,” Shan said.

Wang Wenqian has volunteered at

the museum for three years. She bought some souvenirs before ending her service and setting off to study in Europe.

“I will be forever grateful for the oppor-tunity to work in the museum. It embod-ies the ancient wisdom and philosophy of China for us to learn,” Wang said.

The volunteer service program has become increasingly popular. About 3,000 people have signed up and spent more than 130,000 hours with the relics in the palace.

Volunteering is just one aspect. The souvenirs Wang bought are simple, like bookmarks and fridge magnets, and she gave them to her foreign friends.

The Palace Museum has over 9,600 kinds of branded souvenirs and last year it sold items worth more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).

“They represent Chinese culture,” Wang said. “My teachers and classmates like them. Some said they would visit the museum for that.” (Xinhua)

Students attend a cultural event organized by the Palace Museum. SD-Agencies

DIRECTOR of the Afghan National Museum Mohammad Fahim Rahimi said that holding exhibitions of cultural treasures at museums is an important means for introducing civilizations and enhancing the understanding and cooperation between peoples of different regions. In this regard, he was very sat-isfi ed with the outcome of his country’s cultural exhibition held in China.

“Luckily more than half a million people visited the Afghan artifacts in the exhibition held in Chengdu over the past three months. It is huge number,” Rahimi told Xinhua with delight on the eve of International Museum Day.

Afghan cultural treasures from the Afghan National Museum have been exhibited in several other countries including Canada, the United States, Japan, South Korea and several Euro-pean countries since 2006. Last year, the Afghan artifacts were displayed for a few months in the Palace Museum in Beijing, and thousands of people includ-ing Chinese and foreigners visited the artifacts, which proved signifi cant for the introduction of Afghan history and culture to Chinese people.

“Afghanistan has served as the cross-roads of civilization in the course of history connecting South Asia to Cen-

tral Asia and as well as the East to the West,” said Rahimi, adding that display-ing Afghan cultural treasures in China, a peaceful and most populous country, is vital for understanding Afghanistan from the outside.

In Kabul, around 300 people visit the National Museum every day, said the Afghan national museum chief. However, he noted that “unfortunately foreign visitors are few and of course the reason is due to security concerns.”

According to the plan, the items will be sent to Zhengzhou in central China, Shenzhen in southern China, and Hunan Province in central China for exhibitions lasting until December.

Thanking China for providing oppor-tunities to the Afghan National Museum to put on display Afghan cultural trea-

sures, Rahimi maintained that holding exhibitions in China on the one hand had introduced Afghan civilizations and on the other hand, it has earned funds to support and develop museums inside the country. “We are satisfi ed with the outcome of holding exhibitions in China. We have achieved our goal,” said the Afghan museum chief with joy.

The Afghan National Museum was severely damaged in wars and confl icts from 1990 to 2001. During their reign, Taliban terrorists even dynamited and destroyed a giant Buddha statue in cen-tral Bamyan province months before its collapse in late 2001.

Rahimi disclosed that Afghanistan still faces challenges to protecting cul-tural relics, such as a lack of funds and research, technological underdevelop-ment, and a severe shortage of profes-sional equipment and talent, all factors that are restricting the restoration process. However, Rahimi said that the national artifacts have been recovered and are all now in safe hands.

He said that only 231 relics out of some 70,000 items belonging to the National Museum are housed there currently, adding that the construction of the new building would begin next year.

(Xinhua)

Afghan treasures shine in China

An exquisite gold crown on display in the Afghan treasures exhibition. File photo