More Chinese youth embracing traditional culture: museum curator

Young people in China are increasingly gravitating toward traditional culture, Gao Zheng, curator of the National Museum of China, said on Tuesday.

More than 62 percent of visitors to the country's national museum this year are under the age of 35, Gao revealed at a cultural event held at the museum in Beijing.

This highlights a fact that more and more youngsters are visiting museums, turning their attention to and appreciating indigenous culture, he added.

In recent years, Chinese people have shown a growing interest in connecting with their culture heritage, which spans more than 5,000 years. Visiting museums has become a popular way to spend holidays.

According to Gao, during the summer vacation of 2024, an average of 1.6 million people applied for the 26,000 daily tickets to the National Museum of China. Even in off-peak seasons, the museum still receives nearly 520,000 daily ticket applications.

To cater to people's new-found interest in culture, China registered 268 new museums in 2023, bringing the total number of museums in the country to 6,833. More than 90 percent of these museums offer free entry. In 2023, they logged 1.29 billion visits.

In addition to showcasing the diverse facets of domestic culture, the National Museum of China also hosts exhibitions on other global cultures. Currently, popular exhibitions include ones on ancient Greek arts and life, Russian banquets, and the works of Italian artist Caravaggio.