Private museum opens in Shanghai

The Guanfu Museum is located on the 37th floor of Shanghai Center and is split into five exhibition halls. The first show is about gold. [Photo/CCTV.com]

One of China's first private museums has opened in Lujiazui, complete with more than 400 pieces.

The Guanfu Museum is located on the 37th floor of Shanghai Center and is split into five exhibition halls. The first show is about gold. It includes more than 200 items from Ma Weidu's personal collection. They include cups, bowls and other accessories, with some dating back to the fourth Century BC.

"Gold is the common currency of humans, not just Chinese people. It's used worldwide. There are few well-preserved gold relics due to its function as a currency. Many items made from gold were used as money with the change of dynasties. I present the exhibition on gold items especially in Shanghai in response to the financial status of Lujiazui. You know, gold can be seen as a symbol of finance," Ma said.

Ma Weidu started to collect relics in the 1980s. His collection includes china, Buddhist statues and royal costumes from the late Qing Dynasty. In 1997, he set up a private museum in Beijing, one of the first on the mainland. He has since opened branches in Hangzhou and Xiamen. One of the highlights of the local branch are these china pieces exported to the West during the Qing Dynasty. Many of them were tailor-made by Chinese masters according to orders from western trading companies.

"Two or three hundred year's ago, Chinese products were popular among western countries, just as years' ago western products were warmly welcomed by Chinese people. These are the evidence of that period. Some of the china items are painted with Christian stories and some are with Greek mythology and they are all made by Chinese artists. We can learn from these pieces that China was relatively open to the world at that time," Ma said.

Admission to the museum is 88 yuan, but an appointment is needed in advance.