Zhoushan Museum

Zhoushan Museum

Zhoushan Museum is a patriotic education base.

Zhoushan Museum is a prefecture-level (municipal-level) comprehensive museum, owned by the state as a non-profit public institution. It was established in the late 1950s. The new building was completed in 1998 and opened to the public in January 2000. It currently covers an area of 5,500 square meters, with a construction area of 3,690 square meters, including an exhibition area of 1,100 square meters.

Zhoushan Museum has three permanent exhibition halls: "Exhibition of Zhoushan Historical Relics," "Exhibition of Century-Old Beds," and "Exhibition of Marine Fisheries Specimens," all open to the public year-round (except Mondays). Among them, the "Exhibition of Zhoushan Historical Relics" covers an area of 350 square meters and displays over 200 cultural relics and collections (in groups). It is divided into five thematic sections: "Prehistoric Culture," "The First Homeland," "Dawn of Civilization," "The Millennium Port," and "Frontier in Flames." The exhibition traces the development and evolution of the Zhoushan islands from the Late Pleistocene period 10,000 to 60,000 years ago to the Opium War at the end of the Qing Dynasty. It highlights the important role of Zhoushan Port in historical economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, as well as the heroic resistance of Zhoushan’s military and civilians against various invasions. It serves as an accessible "local history textbook."

The "Exhibition of Century-Old Beds" showcases over 10 old beds from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period in Zhoushan. These beds embody the common features of traditional "Ningbo-style" beds while also reflecting the unique maritime character of Zhoushan. Observing these beds offers insight into the traditional craftsmanship, artistic styles, and cultural heritage embedded within them. This exhibition launched an online version on March 25, 2008. The digital display divides the exhibition space into 11 functional areas such as "Wedding Chamber," "-", and "Longevity and Prosperity Bed." Utilizing digital photography technology and featuring bilingual (Chinese-English) descriptions, it provides a comprehensive showcase of the exhibits.

The Marine Fisheries Exhibition Hall is set up in the museum’s spacious lobby and corridors. Leveraging Zhoushan’s abundant marine resources, it uses a variety of marine biological specimens, fishing boat models, textual materials, and background images to paint a vivid picture of the marine world and traditional fishing culture.

Over the years, Zhoushan Museum has focused on the island’s characteristics, taking it upon itself to collect historical relics, study local culture, and showcase marine civilization. It actively disseminates scientific and cultural knowledge to the public, organizes various thematic exhibitions from time to time, and enriches the cultural life of the community and local youth.

In January 2004, responding to the call of the provincial government, Zhoushan Museum began offering free admission to the public year-round. Building on this free access policy, the museum deepened reforms and innovation, further shifting its mindset. In addition to permanent exhibitions, it adopted a combined approach of self-organized and co-hosted events, launching five high-quality temporary exhibitions each year. In recent years, exhibitions such as the "Photo Exhibition Commemorating the 85th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China and the 70th Anniversary of the Long March Victory," "Revolutionary Historical Relics Exhibition," "30th Anniversary of Reform and Opening-Up Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition," "Paintings by Huang Binhong, Master of Modern Landscape Painting," and "Zhoushan Folk Treasures Exhibition" have been met with enthusiastic responses from the public. These exhibitions attracted over 100,000 primary and secondary school students, greatly enriching their cultural lives and fully realizing the museum’s role in social education.

In December 2004, Zhoushan Museum was designated as a "Zhoushan Patriotic Education Base." With strong support and attention from governments and departments at all levels, the museum firmly embraced the mission of patriotic education, continuously innovating its methods and utilizing its rich collection of cultural relics to educate visitors on patriotism and historical materialism. In June 2006, through activities such as large-scale photo exhibitions, revolutionary relics displays, storytelling sessions by revolutionary elders in schools, and essay competitions for primary and secondary school students, the museum conducted patriotic education over a two-month period. The campaign reached out to military units, communities, enterprises, and institutions, with over 5,000 participants. In 2007, after careful consideration between our museum and Zhejiang Ocean University, our venue was established as a "Social Practice Base," "Teaching Practice Base," and "Youth Volunteer Service Base" for the university’s students. This initiative provides college students with opportunities for social practice, helps develop their practical skills, fosters patriotic ideals, and aims to inspire people with the nation’s long and rich cultural heritage, nurturing and promoting national spirit. Over the years, the museum’s patriotic education initiatives have received strong recognition from higher authorities.

Further Reading:

· China National First-Class Museums

· China National Third-Class Museums