China's museums increase rapidly

A visitor views the exhibition "Echoes from the Volga River: Masterpieces of the Peredvizhniki from the Tretyakov Gallery" at the National Museum of China in Beijing, capital of China, May 18, 2015. China on Monday held celebrations for the International Museum Day, which falls on May 18. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has opened an average of 200 new museums per year over the past decade, said senior cultural heritage officials on Monday.

At the end of 2014, the country had 4,510 registered museums, an increase of 345 from 2013, said Li Xiaojie, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage here in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province when marking the International Museum Day.

Around one-fifth of China's museums are private but the majority are state-owned. China's museums are growing faster than ever, said Song Xinchao, deputy head of the administration and director-general of China Museums Association.

Over the past decade or so, the number of museums grew by more than 200 per year in China. Before opening-up and reform in the late 1970s, the country had less than 350 museums.

China still needs more work to increase the number of museums and improve their quality and categories, said Song.

China unveiled Monday the top 10 museum exhibitions in 2014, including the colorful terra cotta warriors display marking the 40th anniversary of the start of excavation of the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

Located in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the 56-square-km mausoleum is the world's largest. An army of more than 7,000 life-sized terra cotta warriors and horses was discovered at the site in 1974.