Xi'an, China Opens Two Major Museums, Strengthening Its Role as a "City of Museums"

XI'AN,China,April 26,2022 --The Shaanxi Archaeological Museum,the first archaeological museum in China,was recently completed in Xi'an and will be open to the public on a trial basisfrom April 28. Prior to that,the Xi'an Museum also had officially unveiled its"new look" after five months of upgrading and renovation. The official debut ofthese two major museums this month further contributes to the image of Xi'an asa City of Museums.

A tomb mural of Yuan dynasty in the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum

Museums are part of a city's cultural identity and a place for people to feel the history,understand the present and explore the future. Xi'an,hasmade great efforts to make itself into a City of Museums,devoting itself to transforming its advantages in cultural heritage resources,developing itsurban culture in the style of Xi'an,and highlighting its unique charm as athousand-year ancient capital. The Party Xi'an Municipal Committee andMunicipal Government proposed to protect the city's cultural treasures,developthe city's cultural value,and make culture a bridge between Xi'an and theworld.

Located in Chang'an District,Xi'an City,the upcoming Shaanxi ArchaeologicalMuseum is a museum that focuses on the development of archaeology as adiscipline,and displays the process of archaeological work,techniques and research ideas. The museum has an indoor exhibition area of 5,800 square metersand an outdoor exhibition area of 10,000 square meters,boasting 5,215 culturalrelics in 4,218 groups on display. The museum has a number of exhibits thathave been restored for protection with new concepts and advanced technologies.

The exhibits include a Tang Dynasty cameleer figurine that is still intactafter thousands of years,and Western Zhou Dynasty horse and chariot pits andYuan Dynasty fresco tomb that have been moved into the museum as "packages" asa whole.

Located in the south of Xi'an City,the Xi'an Museum consists of three parts:the Tang Small Wild Goose Pagoda (Xiaoyan Pagoda),the ancient architecturalcomplex of Jianfu Temple and the museum area. It is a modern history museumintegrating museums,historic sites and gardens. In early April,the renovatedand upgraded Xi'an Museum welcomed its visitors with a "new look". More than1,100 pieces (groups) of cultural relics from the collection were unveiled inthe 1,300-square-meter exhibition hall. Among them,more than 100 pieces(groups) will be presented to the public for the first time as regular exhibitsof the museum,including the golden tiger ornament from the Warring StatesPeriod,the opera figures bronze paperweight from the Han Dynasty and thepainted infantry figurine,better showing the historical and cultural heritageof the ancient capital of Xi'an.

With a city history of 3,100 years,Xi'an,along with Cairo,Athens and Rome,is known as one of the "Four Ancient Capitals of History". Today,thousands ofyears of time and historical traces are concentrated in museums of all sizes inXi'an. Xi'an has as many as 134 registered museums,covering more than 40 typessuch as history,art and natural science. The Overall Plan for the Constructionof the City of Museums in Xi'an issued in 2019 set up the spatial framework forthe construction of the City of Museums in Xi'an,making Xi'an truly an"everyday history museum" that can be heard anytime,seen anywhere and spokenabout randomly.

In addition to collection,research and display,museums in Xi'an are exploringnew opportunities for education,communication and even leisure. Xi'an hasintegrated museum resources and expanded the role of museums as "schools" sothat museums can better integrate into and serve public life. Relying on therapid development of digital museums and coping with challenges during theCOVID-19 pandemic,the Xi'an Museum has brought its collection to the "cloud",giving lectures through live streaming,and holding concerts for the public.

This ubiquitous museum experience in new forms makes classical and seriousmuseums accessible to more ordinary people.

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Caption: A tomb mural of Yuan dynasty in the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum

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