The country’s government started to build museums across the country due to China’s economic rise but did not think about the lack of exhibits and visitors
Shanghai Museum, China. Source: Ayda.ru
Many of these museums are “vanity projects”, according to Forbes, mostly designed to demonstrate the prowess of local governments rather than exhibits, Artguide reports.
Some new museums have stunning architecture designed by prominent architects, such as Zaha Hadid.
There’s no official data, but independent researchers suggest the country has thousands of “ghost” museums. The buildings are often rented out for different sorts of events and turn into commercial spaces.
One of the reasons for the dismal state of many museums is a deficit of curators: museums are often run by random people.
Also, a significant part of China’s cultural heritage has been destroyed or taken to the US or Europe throughout the 20th century, when the country faced the foreign occupation, the civil war and the Cultural Revolution. It can partially explain the lack of exhibits.
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