Zhejiang Merchants Museum

Zhejiang Merchants Museum

The Zhejiang Merchants Museum was jointly initiated and established by seven provincial-level departments and organizations, including the Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce, Zhejiang Economic Cooperation Office, Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Zhejiang Federation of Social Sciences, Zhejiang Daily Press Group, Zhejiang Media Group, and Zhejiang Gongshang University. Positioned as the “spiritual home of Zhejiang merchants worldwide,” it comprehensively presents the “people, objects, and events” of Zhejiang’s economy over the past millennia. The museum has three exhibition halls divided into functional zones such as Millennium Merchant Lineage, Blazing the Trail, Early Spring on the Qiantang, Breaking the Ice and Setting Sail, Stars in the Sky, Competing Across the Land, Sailing the Four Seas, Transformation and Upgrading, Public Environment, Zhejiang Merchants’ Families, Philanthropy, Knowledgeable Merchants, and Zhejiang Merchants’ Talents. It displays over 1,000 sets of physical materials related to Zhejiang merchants, covering from Fan Li, the earliest known ancestor of Zhejiang merchants, to present-day, fully exhibiting the “people, objects, and events” of Zhejiang’s economy through the ages—especially the growth of its private sector since the reform and opening up, and the entrepreneurial and innovative history of over 10 million Zhejiang merchants around the world. Among them, overseas Zhejiang merchants form an important part, with their achievements highlighted in sections like “Sailing the Four Seas,” as well as in areas dedicated to the Ningbo Businessmen and philanthropy.

To continuously improve the quality of its collections and exhibits, as well as the academic research level in this field, the Zhejiang Merchants Museum actively collects various types of materials from Zhejiang merchants both in China and abroad. It organizes and categorizes relevant information about Zhejiang merchants, establishes archives, and takes the initiative to build a multimedia resource database themed on Zhejiang merchants. The 2014 project “Legends of the Merchant Lineage: A Multimedia Resource Database of Zhejiang Business Groups and Commercial Culture,” under the National Cultural Sharing Project of the Ministry of Culture, contains 5 million Chinese characters, 10,000 data entries, and about 700 minutes of audio and video content. It offers a comprehensive overview of the historical development and contemporary achievements of Zhejiang merchants since 2,500 years ago, starting with Fan Li. In addition, it has published monographs such as “A Brief History of Zhejiang Merchants” and “General Theory of Zhejiang Merchants,” and compiled pictorials of Zhejiang merchants based on museum collections.

In the nearly three years since its opening, the museum has delivered courses on Zhejiang merchant culture approximately 60 times for training classes organized by Zhejiang University, the Party School of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee, and several higher vocational and technical schools. The museum actively participates in various Zhejiang merchant cultural events, serving as a platform to unite the strength of Zhejiang merchants. It has held around 60 events in total, including the “Third World Zhejiang Merchants Congress – World Zhejiang Merchants Culture Forum,” the monthly “Business Philosophy Forum” featuring talks by well-known Zhejiang merchants, the “New Generation Entrepreneurs’ Lecture Hall” with speakers such as Zong Qinghou and Nan Cunhui, the “Industry Forum” with guests including Dai Tianrong and Wang Licheng, the “Zhejiang Merchants’ Experience and State-Owned Enterprise Reform” salon with dialogue participants such as Li Shufu, Chao, and Qiu Jibao, and major events like the Zhejiang Provincial “Youth Symposium Commemorating the 95th Anniversary of the May Fourth Movement.”

Using the Zhejiang Merchants Culture Festival as a vehicle, the museum promotes and spreads the spirit of Zhejiang merchants. Starting in August 2014, preparations began for the “First Zhejiang Merchants Culture Festival” series of events, which included activities widely appreciated by the public such as “The Best Zhejiang Merchants – Good Bosses (and Good Stories) in the Eyes of Employees,” “Creative Cartoon Competition Featuring Portraits of Well-Known Zhejiang Merchants,” and the “Zhejiang Merchants Reading Festival,” all aimed at telling the stories of Zhejiang merchants and conveying their positive energy.