The bronze ceremonial axe-blade with Yachou tribal inscriptions Photo: VCG

China is gearing up to host celebrations for 2025 International Museum Day at the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing, also called the Capital Museum East Branch, from May 17 to 19, with multiple cultural events, including a blockbuster exhibition on Chinese culture from the Shang Dynasty (c.1600BC-1046BC), according to a press release China's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) issued on Monday.

At a press conference on Monday, Luo Wenli, deputy head of the NCHA, said that the event, themed "The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities," highlights China's efforts to blend heritage preservation with modern technology.

"China's museums are adapting to the changes of the times and use innovative means to meet the people's growing cultural demands," he noted.

One of the highlights is the Exhibition Series on the Origins of Chinese Civilization - This is the Shang, which is set to showcase 338 sets of cultural relics from 28 museums across the country.

Notably, the exhibition will feature the first-ever "reunion" of two pairs of brother artifacts, the iconic bronze owl-shaped wine vessel (zun) with the inscription Fuhao (wife of Shang Dynasty leader Wu Ding) and the bronze ceremonial axe-blade (yue) with Yachou tribal inscriptions. The latter will be on limited display.

The iconic bronze owl-shaped wine vessel with the inscription Fuhao Photo: VCG

Zhao Qingrong, executive deputy director of the Yinxu Museum, told the Global Times on Monday that 49 sets of artifacts from the Yinxu Museum will be contributed to support the event. The majority of the loaned items are bronze wares along with some jade and pottery wares.

An ox-shaped bronze ritual vessel, the most precious relic of the museum, will also be showcased during the exhibition. 

Zhao pointed out that the Shang Dynasty is widely regarded as the golden age of Chinese bronze craftsmanship, with the Yinxu ruins - the capital of the late Shang Dynasty - yielding some of the most sophisticated ritual vessels, weapons, and ceremonial artifacts ever unearthed.

Zhang Lixin, director of the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, highlighted the strong public interest in museums. She revealed that over 20,000 early-bird tickets for the event were sold out in just 10 days after sales began in early May. 

The event comes amid a nationwide museum boom. 

During the May Day holidays, museums across China received over 60.49 million visitors, up 17 percent year-on-year, setting a new record, according to data from NCHA.

Liu Yang, an official from NCHA, said at the press conference that in anticipation of a new peak in visitor numbers, museums are taking multiple measures. These include expanding management rules, increasing exhibition numbers, optimizing reservation mechanisms, and boosting opening service capabilities. 

Emphasis is also placed on cultural relic safety and visitor experience, with visitor limits set and technologies like audio guides and hybrid online-offline exhibitions being utilized to improve service quality.

According to Luo, the opening ceremony of the event will feature important announcements, including the results of the National Level One Museum Operation Evaluation (2022-24), the 2025 list of the most innovative museums nationwide, and the top 10 museum exhibition selections. 

China joined the International Council of Museums in 1983 and has organized relevant activities annually. Since 2009, NCHA has co-hosted the main venue events with provincial governments. This will be the 17th edition of the event, the press release noted.