Raw cotton is on display at the Shandong Qilu Cotton Museum in Xiajin county, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat account: qysdfy]

The Shandong Qilu Cotton Museum recently opened to the public in Xiajin county, East China's Shandong province.

The museum, the first of its kind in Shandong, consists of an indoor exhibition area of 6,000 square meters and an outdoor experimental field covering an area of 5,000 sq m.

The museum features more than 400 cotton-related items on display in 10 exhibition areas. Exhibits focus on local culture, the history of cotton, planting techniques, and cotton textile products.

Xiajin is a major cotton production center in Shandong province. The county has had a productive cotton industry since as early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to a document uncovered from that time.

In 2018, the county produced 72.92 million tons of cotton over an area of 8,791 hectares.

The museum is the result of an effort by the local government to integrate cotton production with the culture and tourism industries. This combination is expected to bring more diversity to the local economy.