Reviving the cultural power of China's museums

IMPORTANT ROLE OF PRIVATE MUSEUMS

Related: Experts call for improving law on cultural relics protection

China has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of private museums and galleries over the past five years. The country's 456 private museums, 13 percent of the nation's total, play an important role in protecting and promoting Chinese culture.

Beijing's China Red Sandalwood Museum is an outstanding example of private investment in culture. Founded in 1999 by Chen Lihua, chairwoman of Fuwah International Group, it is China's first and largest museum dedicated to collecting, researching and displaying red sandalwood works of art and classical furniture.

Located in Beijing's Chaoyang District and with an area of 5,000 square meters, the royal palace-style architecture of the Red Sandalwood Museum itself is a work of art. The museum has some 200 pieces of original Ming and Qing-Dynasty antique furniture collected by Chen, and hundreds of red sandalwood pieces including a miniature of the famous Temple of Heaven made by artisans under her supervision.

"The motivation for me to establish the museum is not only because of my interest in Chinese classical furniture, but also the responsibility to protect and promote traditional Chinese red sandalwood art, which is heritage left to us by our ancestors," explains Chen, who was on Forbes Magazine's annual list of the world's 100 most powerful women in 2012.

She tells Xinhua that red sandalwood is one of the most precious timbers on earth, grows very slowly and is often hollow when mature. "Hence the saying that 'it grows an inch a century and an inch has the value of pure gold of similar size,'" she adds.

Chen not only shares her collection with the public in the museum but has donated items to the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, Dresden State Art Collections in Germany and the Domaine National de Chambord in France to let world audiences appreciate Chinese royal wood carving and Chinese culture at large.

"I was very impressed with all the red sandalwood artworks across four stories here. And only here can you take a close look at this classical furniture and feel so proud to be a Chinese with such rich culture and long history," a visitor named An Yongqing tells Xinhua. He paid 20 yuan(3.2 U.S. dollars)) for a senior's ticket.

But not all private museums in China are so successful or enjoy such popularity. A shortage of professionals and lack of funds remain obstacles for the development of many. Since 2011, state-owned museums in Sichuan, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces have paired up with local private museums as a trial project to help them upgrade exhibition quality and services while giving subsidies to support the development of the private attractions.

"The trial has been very effective, and we will expand to more provinces in the future. Museums, either state-run or privately owned, are very useful means to protect Chinese culture as well as passing it on to the next generation," according to Song Xinchao.