Voice from the Two Sessions | Representative Chu Xiaobo: This year, Shanghai Museum will go to Egypt to carry out archeological excavation at the Temple of Sethbitopra.
The “two sessions” of Shanghai are currently in progress. On January 15th, a reporter from The Paper had an exclusive interview with Chu Xiaobo, a deputy to the Shanghai People’s Congress and the director of the Shanghai Museum. He revealed that the museum continues to promote the process of overseas joint archaeology and will go to Egypt to officially carry out excavation at the Sahemt Cult Temple this year.
In 2024, the Shanghai Museum and the East Gallery of Shanghai Museum will welcome a total of 6.5786 million visitors, with foreign and overseas visitors accounting for 70%. At the same time, according to background data, in 2024, the number of overseas visitors to the Shanghai Museum has nearly reached 10%, which is a significant increase from previous years.
“Especially after the East Gallery of the Shanghai Museum adopted a no-reservation policy, it became very friendly to overseas visitors. Now, with relevant personal identification documents, they can visit the museum, which has led to a noticeable increase in overseas visitors to the East Gallery.” Said Chu Xiaobo.
Chu Xiaobo introduced that in 2025, the Shanghai Museum and the East Gallery of Shanghai Museum will launch 12 special exhibitions including the fourth exhibition of the “How is China” series “Dragon Rising China” Hongshan Cultural Theme Exhibition and the fifth exhibition of the “Dialogue with the World” series “Impression•Party” Impressionist Art Exhibition; they will also participate deeply in global cultural and historical preservation governance by holding two outbound exhibitions, including “Hundred Things See China” series’ third exhibition “Melted Past, New Age: Copperware Exhibition from Song to Ming and Qing Dynasties” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and “Voice of the World: Art and Culture of Jiangnan in Late Ming Dynasty” exhibition in Hong Kong; they will further implement major projects such as the Origin Exploration of Chinese Civilization and “Archaeology in China,” comprehensively carry out excavation and conservation work of Ancient Ship No. 2 at the Yangtze River Estuary, and continue to promote overseas joint archaeological exploration such as excavating at Sahemt Cult Temple in Egypt. At the same time, they will promote cooperation with Iran in archaeology.
Chu Xiaobo expressed that in 2025, the Shanghai Museum will focus on deepening cultural development and promoting energy transformation, strengthening the transformation and integration of cultural tourism as an important entry for flow-type cities and a preferred destination for inbound tourism. The museum will aim to attract more than 6 million visitors to its East Gallery and over 2 million to its People’s Square branch; it will also continue to carry out professional promotion and publicity activities through multiple channels and platforms at home and abroad to expand its fan base to over 8 million followers on various platforms. The museum will also promote the construction of convenient tourism facilities and specialized services for groups such as elderly people, people with disabilities, and foreigners, as well as establish long-term cooperation with China Eastern Airlines to launch a “Shanghai Museum” themed wide-body passenger plane, creating the world’s first “in-flight museum” flight to intensify overseas promotion.
