Haiyan County Museum

Haiyan County Museum

Haiyan County Museum is a regional comprehensive museum primarily dedicated to showcasing the history and culture of Haiyan. It was officially established in December 1977, and became an independent institution in September 1985. By the end of 2012, it had 13 staff members on career establishment, including one with a senior title, one associate senior title, four intermediate titles, and five junior titles. The museum includes an office for the director, an office for the party secretary, an administrative office, a collections management department, a publicity and education department, and a cultural relics protection department.

The main responsibilities of the museum include collecting and preserving cultural relics, exhibiting and promoting them, conducting scientific research, and disseminating both tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and the human environment. Additionally, the museum is responsible for managing cultural relics within the county and protecting ancient cultural sites.

Currently, the museum houses a collection of 4,105 cultural relics, including 830 classified as national third-grade or above. Within the county, there are 249 immovable cultural relics registered in the “Third National Cultural Relics Survey,” among which one is a national key cultural relics protection unit, four are provincial-level protected units, 43 are county-level protected units, and 60 are cultural relics protection sites.

In order to earnestly implement the directives from higher authorities regarding the free opening of museums, the new building of Haiyan County Museum officially opened to the public free of charge on September 28, 2012. The new museum is located at No. 122, Xin Qiao North Road, Wuyuan Subdistrict. Its main structure is a regular hexagon in plan, with four floors and a height of 20.40 meters, covering a construction area of over 10,000 square meters. Floors one to three are exhibition spaces, while the fourth floor houses the cultural relics storage and offices.

The permanent exhibition “Haiyan · The 25th Year of Emperor Yingzheng” is located on the third floor of the museum, covering an area of approximately 2,400 square meters. It is divided into seven sections: the Preface Hall, Vicissitudes of the Sea, A County by the Sea, The Maritime Great Wall, The Maritime Silk Road, The Origins of Cultural Heritage, and the Epilogue Hall. Throughout the exhibition, five “millennia” are highlighted: the Millennium Settlement, the Millennium Salt Capital, the Millennium Seawall, the Millennium Port, and the Millennium Ancient Temple. These elements underscore the regional characteristics and historical-cultural features of Haiyan, telling the story of one of China’s oldest counties.

The temporary exhibition hall is located on the second floor, covering an area of approximately 1,400 square meters, and is divided into an artifacts exhibition hall (800 square meters) and a calligraphy and painting exhibition hall (600 square meters), hosting various exhibitions throughout the year.

The Folk Culture Thematic Gallery is located on the west side of the first floor, covering an area of approximately 600 square meters. It consists of two distinctive exhibition halls: the Haiyan Opera Performance Hall and the Folk Collections Exhibition Hall. It was officially completed and opened on November 9, 2013. Centered on showcasing local characteristics and utilizing social co-construction as a method, the Folk Culture Thematic Gallery is an attempt and exploration to fully leverage the functions of cultural venues and deepen reforms in social public welfare initiatives. Its completion and opening also hold certain reference value for the reform and development of comprehensive local museums in China.

As an important window for external cultural exchange and a base for patriotic education in Haiyan County, Haiyan County Museum is built on a tripartite exhibition system of “permanent exhibitions, thematic exhibitions, and temporary exhibitions.” It strives to provide the public with a public cultural and leisure platform that is beneficial, enjoyable, and enlightening.

Attraction Location

No. 43, Haibin East Road

Further Reading:

· China National Third-Grade Museum