Popular museums in China：Shenzhen Museum

Shenzhen Museum was founded in 1981. It consists of 4 museum sites including Shenzhen Museum of History and Folk Culture, Shenzhen Museum of Ancient Art, Dongjiang River Guerrilla Command Headquarters Memorial Museum and Shenzhen Reform and Opening-up Exhibition Hall. Shenzhen Museum covers an area of more than 60,000 square meters and serves the function of collection, protection, research, display, and education. As a large-scale headquarter-division museum, Shenzhen Mueum is honored as the National 1st-Level Museum, National  Classic Red Tourism Spot and the National Social Science Popularization Base.

Background of Establishment

On August 26, 1980, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established. In August 1981, cultural relics work team of Guangdong Provincial Museum came to Shenzhen, together with staff from Shenzhen library and other units, they carried out the census of cultural relics in the whole city, made archaeological excavations in some relics as well as tomb clusters and unearthed and collected a large number of cultural relics. In order to collect, study these relics, and showcase Shenzhen's history and culture, Shenzhen Establishment Committee approved the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Museum On October 17, 1981, and renamed it as Shenzhen City Museum later. In early 2008, it was renamed to Shenzhen Museum.

Venue Construction

(1) Shenzhen Museum of Ancient Art

The museum is Located on the north side of Shennan Road. The infrastructure project of Shenzhen Museum of Ancient Art was started in 1982, and was listed as one of the eight Shenzhen cultural facilities, one of the construction focus. Opened in November 1988, it covers an area of 37,000 square meters, a total construction area of 18,400 square meters, exhibition building area of 8,000 square meters. The museum was honored as the most modern museum nationwide in the 1980s, won the award of "National Public Cultural Facilities Design Second Prize", and was awarded one of the ten "Shenzhen Reform and Opening up Historic Buildings". In August 2015, the museum was closed for maintenance and renovation.

(2) Shenzhen Museum of History and Folk Culture

Located in Shenzhen Civic Center, the Shenzhen Museum of History and Folk Culture, opened in December 2008, takes up 12,500 square meters of land, and covers a construction area of 33,600 square meters. The exhibition building has a total of 3 floors, including 5 basic exhibition halls and 2 special exhibition halls, with an exhibition area of more than 10,000 square meters. The ground floor is a storehouse of cultural relics. In addition, the exhibition building also has multi-functional report Hall, VIP Hall, teahouse, souvenir shops and other ancillary service facilities.

(3) Dongjiang River Guerrilla Command Headquarters Memorial Museum

Located in #13 Nan Qing Street, Luohu District, Dongjiang River Guerrilla Command Headquarters Memorial Museum covers an area of 240 square meters, construction area of 794 square meters. The former site was Shenzhen Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit, set under the management of Shenzhen Museum in 2012, completed and opened to public in December 2017.

Establishment and Fucntions

Shenzhen Museum is affiliated to the municipal financial allocation of public institutions division of Shenzhen Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. In November 2004, the archaeological team separated from the Museum and formed an independent corporate unit of Shenzhen Cultural Relics Archaeological Verification. In January 2010, Shenzhen Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center was transferred over to Shenzhen Museum. At present, the museum has 13 departments, existing staff of 129 people, including  91 mid-level and above professional and technical personnel. The current curator is Ye Yang, deputy curator is Guo Xuere, Cai Huiyao, and Du juan.

 At the end of 2014, Shenzhen Museum set up the Council, and was one of the first museums in Guangdong to implement the reform of the Council system.

The main function of Shenzhen Museum is to collect the exhibition relics, promote national culture. Its specific responsibilities include: collection of cultural relics, verification, cataloguing, restoration, reproduction, preservation and display of exhibitions, restoration of cultural relics, ancient buildings, and ancient works of art, publication of local history of Shenzhen and Hongkong, folk culture, museology and natural science research, archaeological excavations and cultural relics promotion, etc.

 Work achievement

1.Preservation and collection of cultural relics

The collection of Shenzhen Museum is coming from the allocation of the state, provincial and municipal related units or social donation.

There are more than 40 thousand cultural relics of many kinds, in which more than 5400 pieces are precious cultural relics above Level III.

The cultural relics of China’s Reform and Opening Up are more than 6000 pieces, which is in the forefront of domestic museums.

The collections of Shang and Zhou bronzes, ceramics, modern calligraphy and painting, world wild animal specimens are in the advanced level in Guangdong province.

In 2015, the Shenzhen museum completed the first stage work of the evidence collection of economic and social development changes required by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.The Shenzhen Museum has set up the collection work process and standard guidelines, which provides experience the museums in Guangdong or even nationwide.

Shenzhen Museum has advanced facilities and well-equipped cultural relic protection laboratories, including cultural relic protection and repair rooms, regular laboratories, instrument room, X ray inspection room, cultural relics fumigation and disinfection room, etc., with a total area of more than 500 square meters.

Shenzhen Museum has several qualifications including protection design, repairing, copying, rubbing of cultural relics, etc.

The Shenzhen Museum has set up a comprehensive and multi-level monitoring system for the preservation of cultural relics, using measures of both preventive and salvage protection, which is in the advanced level of Guangdong Province. The Shenzhen Museum has carried out a large number of cultural relic protection and restoration work every year.

2. Display and Exhibition

(1) Basic Display

There are 5 basic displays in the Shenzhen Museum. They are “Ancient Shenzhen”, “Modern Shenzhen”, “Shenzhen’s Reform and Opening Up History” and “Shenzhen Folk Culture”, which systematically shows the city history and folk culture of Shenzhen. The exhibition of “Shenzhen’s Reform and Opening Up History " is the pioneer in the collection, research and exhibition of cultural relics in the history of reform and opening up, which has become the model of the exhibition of contemporary history and has been rated as "The High-Quality Exhibition of the Eighth National Museum Exhibition ".

"Into the emotional world of wild animals - Mr. Behring donated the World Wildlife Specimen Exhibition" displays a large number of precious wildlife specimens.

The Ancient Art Museum，which is now currently under repair construction, has 5 main exhibitions. They are "Collection of Bronzes", "Collection of Pottery", "Collection Plaque", "Wildlife" and "Marine Life".  After repair construction, the Ancient Art Museum will launch 3 basic exhibitions of "Collection of Painting and Calligraphy ", "Ancient Bronze Exhibition" and "Ancient Ceramic Exhibition".

The memorial hall of the East River Guerrilla Headquarter has a basic display of “General Ye Ting and Shenzhen”, which concentrates on General Ye Ting's military career and his indissoluble bond with Shenzhen during the Anti-Japanese War. This display also shows Shenzhen’s extreme hard and bitter history of Anti-Japanese War.

(2)Special exhibition and Itinerant Exhibition

With the goal of “Big, Best, Quality”, the Shenzhen Museum has held more than 900 special exhibitions, with an annual average of more than 20.

The Museum of Shenzhen has exhibited national treasures as Square Zun with Four Sheep,Jade clothes sewn with gold wire,Terra Cotta Warriors, Sword of Goujian. Besides, the Shenzhen Museum has also displayed the cultural relics from Britain, France, United States, Italy, India, Egypt and other countries and regions.

With its ancient art collections, unearthed relics, folk cultural relics, modern cultural relics, the Shenzhen Museum organized more than 20 exhibitions in famous museums in Hongkong, Macao and Beijing etc. with the goal of “Go Out”. “The picture exhibition of the history of Shenzhen's history of reform and opening up” is on display in more than 10 cities, such as Beijing and Sichuan, which has a nationwide influence. In addition, the Shenzhen museum also actively organized mobile exhibitions to grass-roots communities, parks, schools, troops, and enterprises.

In 2016, The Exhibition Art Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Museum Association was established attached to the Shenzhen Museum. More than 20 museums above city level joined this organization.

3.Academic research

The Shenzhen museum is one of the most important research institutions in Shenzhen. The Shenzhen Museum has a strong research ability in many fields such as Shenzhen local history, history of reform and opening up, Shenzhen Folk Culture, Archaeology, Museology, cultural relics and intangible cultural heritage.

"The preventive protection of the collection of cultural relics" has been audited by the State Administration of cultural relics, and has been included in the national general project library for the protection of mobile cultural relics.

Shenzhen science and technology project “Research on new materials for the production and preservation of animal specimens for environmental safety” is accepted. The Shenzhen Museum has applied for 3 national patents, published 6 academic papers of high level and the development of fungicide were in the leading domestic level.

In addition, the Shenzhen Museum has set up a Research Base with Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen ESUN Exhibition Company Limited, A number of important research results have been achieved

The Shenzhen Museum published many important monographs and exhibition catalogues such as “A brief history of ancient Shenzhen”, “A brief history of modern Shenzhen”, “The history of entrepreneurship in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone”,“History of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone”, “The thirty year history of Bao’an (1949-1979)”, “Archaeological discovery and research in Shenzhen”, “The 10th anniversary commemorative collection of the opening of the Shenzhen Museum”,"7000 years in Shenzhen",”Nanyue Hakka”,"Research on unearthed bronzes in south of the Five Ridges", “The study of the change of China's legal system”, "Administration research in past dynasties”, "The study of music and dance in the Han Dynasty”, "Exorcism, Image, Magic: Esoteric Buddhism and the Late Tang Literature Research", "Theory and practice of conservation and restoration of cultural relics",

“The blend of Chinese and Western - the essence of Caihua armorial porcelain”，"Shenzhen’s major reform and innovation (1979-2015)”. The Shenzhen Museum also published a number of academic papers.

The Shenzhen Museum organized a number of academic exchange conferences such as “International Symposium on China red and green porcelain”, “China ancient black glaze porcelain and Jizhou kiln porcelain International Symposium”, “The Song Dynasty cellar cultural relics Symposium”, “2008 China (Shenzhen) Museum curator Forum”, “Chinese society of Museum: City museum committee third annual meeting”, “Internet plus Chinese civilization -- Chinese Museum Innovation Forum”.

Shenzhen museum is also involved in the preparation and participation of the high level forum of the UNESCO International Museum, which has an important impact on the industry and society. 

4. Investigation of cultural relics and archaeological excavations

Shenzhen Museum has been organized to participate in the first and second cultural relics survey in Shenzhen. Numerous sites were discovered. The Shenzhen Museum reported to the Shenzhen municipal government to announce the 3 batches of 36 cultural relics protection units. The Shenzhen Museum has also presided over the maintenance of the historic sites such as “The ancient city of Dapeng” and “The ancient city of Nantou”.

The Shenzhen Museum has organized the archaeological excavation of the site such as Xiantouling, Dameisha, Xiaomeisha, Chiwan, Hedishan, Xiangnanchun, Zhuishuling, Dieshishan, Tiezaishan, Wubeiling. A large number of precious cultural relics were unearthed, which clarifies the history of Shenzhen's civilization and the development of the city in the past 7000 years.

Among them, the site of the Wubeiling of Shang Dynasty and the Neolithic site of Xiantouling were named "The ten new archaeological discoveries in the country".

5. Propaganda and protection of intangible cultural heritage

Propaganda and protection of intangible cultural heritage is the most important duty of the Shenzhen Museum (Shenzhen Protection Centre of Intangible Cultural Heritage).

In the field of propaganda, more than 20 exhibitions are held every year, such as "Happy Lantern Festival", "Intangible Cultural Heritage entering the community and campus", "Cultural Heritage Day" and so on.

The Shenzhen Museum also organized many projects of intangible cultural heritage to join the Shenzhen Cultural Fair and shoot the documentary of "Pengcheng Rhyme".

In the field of intangible cultural heritage protection, the Shenzhen Museum has actively carried out the research on the basic theory of intangible cultural heritage and published many books.

The Shenzhen Museum promoted the intangible cultural heritage projects to declare the national, provincial and municipal representative list. Shenzhen now has 59 items of intangible cultural heritage above the municipal level, including 7 state-level and 24 provincial-level.

The Shenzhen Museum Organized experts to monitor the intangible cultural heritage projects and participated all kinds if competitions. More than 10 awards at the provincial level were gained.

The Shenzhen Museum has held several symposiums, seminars and training meetings for the protection of intangible cultural heritage and formulated the provisional measures for the management of the subsidy for the protection of the intangible cultural heritage in Shenzhen in order to better protect the intangible cultural heritage.

Social Service

1.Visitor Reception

The Shenzhen museum is an important place for the public visitors. It is also an important place for the foreign affairs of Shenzhen municipal government.

Since opening, the Shenzhen Museum has received more than 10000000 visitors and VIPs at home and abroad.

At present, the Shenzhen Museum has more than 1 million 500 thousand visitors per year, and it is in the forefront of the domestic museums.

The VIPs received are the leaders of the Party and the country: Jiang Zhemin, Hu Jingtao, Li Keqiang, Wen Jiabao, Liu Yandong, Li Yuanchao, Wang Yang, Hu Chunhua, Wei Jianxing, Li Lanqing etc. The foreign VIPs are Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Richard M. Nixon, Henry Alfred Kissinger, Goh Chok Tong, NguyễnPhúTrọng, Thein Sein etc.

The Shenzhen Museum has become an important window to show the reform and opening up of Shenzhen and China.

In recent years, the Shenzhen Museum has won the award for the best guide service of the Guangdong Provincial Museum.

2.Education activities

The Shenzhen Museum provides high quality cultural and educational activities for the public inside and outside the museum.

In the museum, there are brand activities such as "History and culture lecture hall", "Intangible cultural relics workshop", "Archaeological workshop", "Mousika youth experience camp", "International Museum Day", "Global natural day", "Little commentator training class" and so on.

The Shenzhen museum holds more than 100 of these activities every year, making the museum a palace for the audience to receive education and enjoy the elegant culture.

The Shenzhen museum selects experts to offer lectures and trainings and writes school-based curriculum. The Shenzhen Museum has carried out a series of activities called " Museum Small Lecture Hall" in the city's primary and secondary schools. In recent years, the Shenzhen Museum has won the award for the best community service award and the best publicity and Promotion Award of the Guangdong Provincial Museum open service.

3.Volunteer work

There are more than 2000 volunteers in the Shenzhen Museum, including 11 groups. The scale and quality of the team are in the forefront of the Domestic Museums.

Under the guidance of the museum and volunteer management committee, Shenzhen volunteers participate in exhibitions, consultation, guidance, exhibition care, publicity and education, activities support and so on. Volunteers participated in the service more than 6000 people a year and the service hour lasted more than 20000 hours, which has become an important force of the public cultural service of the Shenzhen Museum.