Page 324 - 2020 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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0 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
three months of 2019, according to the NBS. In “Empty vanity projects,” “white elephants,” “ghost
breakdown, revenue from news and information museums”: Those are some of the names used to
services increased the most during the period, describe the new museums opening throughout
up by 20.9 percent from one year earlier, while China. Through the country’s museum-building
cultural investment, creative design, cultural boom of the past two decades, a new museum has
dissemination channels and production of been basically opening every day — and sometimes
cultural content also saw double-digit growth. several museums a day: 451 new institutions were
As the country tries to shift its growth model to inaugurated in 2012, for instance. It remains one of
one that draws strength from domestic demand the government’s priorities: The National Cultural
and services, it is planning to develop the cultural Heritage Administration’s work plan for 2016-2020
industry into a pillar industry of the national aims to have one museum for every 250,000 people
economy by 2020 (Xinhua, Robust Revenue). built by 2020. Yet after their grand opening, many of
those museums remain virtually empty. While well-
Museums and Exhibition Industry known and popular museums like the Forbidden City
Palace Museum or the Museum of Qin Terracotta
The number of visitors to museums across China Warriors and Horses are run by the state, many
increased by 16 percent year on year to reach new institutions are managed on a local level.
1.13 billion in 2018, said Liu Yuzhu, chief of the Most of the museums driving China’s museum
National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA), boom are funded by local governments. These are
on Saturday. The number of museums increased often museums of local history, industry, ecology
by 218 year on year to 5,354 in 2018 and they and urban planning. Following the directives of
held about 26,000 exhibitions and 260,000 cultural the National Cultural Heritage Administration,
events in 2018 (Xinhua, China Museums). Indeed, state superiors order local governments to set up
the NCHA sponsors International Museum Day each a “cultural project” — and museums are often the
year to recognize the achievements of the cultural most tangible outcome of this goal. Since Chinese
venues. Museums across China in 2019 launched local governments are facing a debt crisis, they
special activities around the theme of “Museums often depend on real estate sales to finance their
as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition.” Activities museums. Local governments offer prime sites
focused on the functions and roles of museums in to investors for commercial construction projects,
cultural inheritance, and museums are promoted but on the condition that they also build a major
the creative transformation and innovative cultural center. Even though vast sums are invested
development of China’s fine traditional culture in iconic architecture, there is often not enough
(Xinhua, International Museum Day). The day saw funding to hire a professional team of curators,
several museums packed to capacity for special managers, registrars and conservators. Local
exhibits, but museums across the country are not politicians hope to impress their superiors with
seeing the same enthusiasm. impressive buildings, since that might allow them
to obtain more funding. But that also leads cities
China is in the middle of an all-out museum to try to outdo each other with projects that aren’t
building boom that is unparalleled in history. As part always properly planned through (Chua).
of a broad central government initiative, thousands
of museums have been built across the country It is estimated that China currently has around
over the past decade. Like many other sectors of 5,100 museums and related institutions. The United
China’s unprecedented economic rise, the obsessive States, on the other hand, has more than 30,000.
drive to build more and more cultural facilities has So, there is still a lot of building left to do as China’s
resulted in a conspicuous dearth of exhibits, let museum boom continues. Museums and other
alone demand from people wanting to visit them cultural facilities are a big part of the identity creation
-- leaving hundreds of massive, often opulent, and and branding of China’s new cities and districts. Many
architecturally iconic buildings sitting underused or of these news museums are located in cities recently
even completely empty today. buil are places without history, whose stories are
just starting to be written. To put it simply, iconic
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three months of 2019, according to the NBS. In “Empty vanity projects,” “white elephants,” “ghost
breakdown, revenue from news and information museums”: Those are some of the names used to
services increased the most during the period, describe the new museums opening throughout
up by 20.9 percent from one year earlier, while China. Through the country’s museum-building
cultural investment, creative design, cultural boom of the past two decades, a new museum has
dissemination channels and production of been basically opening every day — and sometimes
cultural content also saw double-digit growth. several museums a day: 451 new institutions were
As the country tries to shift its growth model to inaugurated in 2012, for instance. It remains one of
one that draws strength from domestic demand the government’s priorities: The National Cultural
and services, it is planning to develop the cultural Heritage Administration’s work plan for 2016-2020
industry into a pillar industry of the national aims to have one museum for every 250,000 people
economy by 2020 (Xinhua, Robust Revenue). built by 2020. Yet after their grand opening, many of
those museums remain virtually empty. While well-
Museums and Exhibition Industry known and popular museums like the Forbidden City
Palace Museum or the Museum of Qin Terracotta
The number of visitors to museums across China Warriors and Horses are run by the state, many
increased by 16 percent year on year to reach new institutions are managed on a local level.
1.13 billion in 2018, said Liu Yuzhu, chief of the Most of the museums driving China’s museum
National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA), boom are funded by local governments. These are
on Saturday. The number of museums increased often museums of local history, industry, ecology
by 218 year on year to 5,354 in 2018 and they and urban planning. Following the directives of
held about 26,000 exhibitions and 260,000 cultural the National Cultural Heritage Administration,
events in 2018 (Xinhua, China Museums). Indeed, state superiors order local governments to set up
the NCHA sponsors International Museum Day each a “cultural project” — and museums are often the
year to recognize the achievements of the cultural most tangible outcome of this goal. Since Chinese
venues. Museums across China in 2019 launched local governments are facing a debt crisis, they
special activities around the theme of “Museums often depend on real estate sales to finance their
as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition.” Activities museums. Local governments offer prime sites
focused on the functions and roles of museums in to investors for commercial construction projects,
cultural inheritance, and museums are promoted but on the condition that they also build a major
the creative transformation and innovative cultural center. Even though vast sums are invested
development of China’s fine traditional culture in iconic architecture, there is often not enough
(Xinhua, International Museum Day). The day saw funding to hire a professional team of curators,
several museums packed to capacity for special managers, registrars and conservators. Local
exhibits, but museums across the country are not politicians hope to impress their superiors with
seeing the same enthusiasm. impressive buildings, since that might allow them
to obtain more funding. But that also leads cities
China is in the middle of an all-out museum to try to outdo each other with projects that aren’t
building boom that is unparalleled in history. As part always properly planned through (Chua).
of a broad central government initiative, thousands
of museums have been built across the country It is estimated that China currently has around
over the past decade. Like many other sectors of 5,100 museums and related institutions. The United
China’s unprecedented economic rise, the obsessive States, on the other hand, has more than 30,000.
drive to build more and more cultural facilities has So, there is still a lot of building left to do as China’s
resulted in a conspicuous dearth of exhibits, let museum boom continues. Museums and other
alone demand from people wanting to visit them cultural facilities are a big part of the identity creation
-- leaving hundreds of massive, often opulent, and and branding of China’s new cities and districts. Many
architecturally iconic buildings sitting underused or of these news museums are located in cities recently
even completely empty today. buil are places without history, whose stories are
just starting to be written. To put it simply, iconic
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