The number of museum visitors in Jiangsu secured first place nationwide for many consecutive years, reaching 112 million in 2023. Museums and exhibitions housed by universities across the province have also become increasingly popular for their professionalism.

(Photo provided to Xinhua Daily)

The Jiangsu Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, located on the campus of the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, boasts a collection of over 3,000 historical items and over 70,000 TCM specimens.

At the museum, a high wall decorated with more than 300 transparent jars of medicinal plants, is a popular setting for visitors to take photos.

Among the visitors, Mr. Li, who came from Gansu Province, was excited to see a prescription from a doctor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). To his surprise, there was also a detailed record of the patient's symptoms and medication for initial and follow-up consultations.

The museum’s curator Shen Jie said the museum opened to the public in January this year, admitting 200 booking-only visitors daily, and had received over 4,000 visits in three months.

Located at the Nanjing Vocational Institute of Railway Technology, the Jiangsu Railway Education Museum houses a wide range of relics bearing witness to the province’s railway construction over a history of 140 years, including the manuscript of the Chief Engineer of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, the roadmap of a trail line in 1929 and railway boundary markers.

At the museum, the High-speed Railway Exhibition Hall showcases advanced technology and equipment through graphic materials, multimedia demonstration and interactive experiences.

As another example, the Art Museum at the Nanjing University of the Arts has attracted many visitors with its diverse activities. It sets a daily limit of 2,000 booking-only visitors, but on the weekends, the quota is not enough to meet the demand. New exhibitions are held almost every month, with shows and interdisciplinary interactions open to visitors.