Consumption and Culturonomics

“Cultural economics.” That was President Xi Jinping’s thrust in his discussions with fellow deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) from Jiangsu Province during last year’s NPC session. Economically developed provinces generally see a cultural boom, he said. “It is worthwhile looking into the reason behind it.”

One year later, on March 5, 2024, Song Yan, an NPC deputy and executive vice curator of the Nanjing Museum Administration, spoke at a group meeting with President Xi, detailing how the integration of culture and tourism had seen a museum craze in the historical city of Nanjing last year, boosting both economic and social development. In 2023, Nanjing welcomed over 200 million tourist arrivals, of which more than 34 million flocked to the city’s many museums, proving that the cultural and creative industry, empowered by high technology and creativity, has become an engine for economic growth.

Museum Magic on Consumption 

Song, who has been in the museum industry for over 30 years, loves the “City of Museums,” the moniker earned by Nanjing because of its rich cultural heritage and museum resources. "We have 77 registered museums in Nanjing, including 15 national museums,” she said.

She then mentioned the “star” French window at the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, which takes up almost an entire wall. Last November, the window went viral on TikTok as the best vantage point from which visitors can relish the wonderful scene of Nanjing’s autumn. Through the clear glass panes, enthralled visitors watched the riot of colors presented by the autumnal green, yellow and red trees, the Presidential Palace with its signature grey-tiled eaves, and the skyline of Nanjing’s bustling Xinjiekou pedestrian street.

During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday this year, Nanjing’s museums hosted many dragon-themed activities to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Visitors also admired dragon-shaped artifacts in the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, the Nanjing Folk Museum, the Grand Bao’en Temple, and the Nanjing Yunjin Museum. They included a dragon-shaped pottery pedestal from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), a celadon double dragon-handled chicken-head pot from the Southern Dynasties (420-589), bronze mirrors with dragon designs from different dynasties, and the Yunjin dragon robe, the imperial robe made of Yunjin brocade patterned with dragons.

Song decorated the window with a red dragon-shaped Chinese papercut, which was a bonus for the visitors who flocked to take photos of it, the window and the vistas outside. “The harmonious blend of traditional culture and holiday activities enriched the expression of urban culture and also stimulated the tourism market,” she said.

Museums, the custodians of civilizations, are attracting more and more young people. The “Summer of Culture and Museum” launched in Nanjing in 2003 has become an annual event geared especially to engage schoolchildren during their summer holiday. The event features a variety of exhibitions and activities, like binding books in the way it was done in ancient China. At the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, over 240 young people have been volunteering as docents, telling the stories behind the national treasures in the museum, symbols of China’s artistic excellence.

“The museum craze reflects people’s demand for a rich cultural life, and the continuous improvement of the cultural confidence of the Chinese people,” Song said. Many of the visitors are young people who are eager to share their experience on social media, she said, mulling over using digital means to “bring cultural relics to life” so that visitors can better understand their significance and better appreciate them.

“In the future, we will integrate museums with tourism. The historical and cultural relics will tell their own stories while they are protected and passed on to the next generation. It can be a new driving force for economic and social development,” she added.