Displaying the past gets a brighter future

Making a commitment

Taking over the Guo museum is part of Zhang's commitment to promoting museums over the years.

He began as a volunteer docent at the National Museum of China in 2003, when he was studying law and sociology at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

Every weekend, he would spend four hours on the road and turn the history behind cultural relics at the museum into vivid stories for a large number of elementary and middle school students, as well as their parents.

He says he is lucky to be engaged in the field when the country's museums have embraced a golden era of development.

"Many exquisite exhibitions from home and abroad have been staged, where the items on display are much more alive than those described in books," he says.

He has also found an endless source of power during the museum's value-added services as he got to share his knowledge of and love and pride in museums with children, becoming a positive influence on their growth.

"I receive good news from my guests about their college acceptances every year," Zhang says.

Some have followed his tour services for years and have chosen academic careers in art design or cultural relics studies of Dunhuang at Lanzhou University in Gansu province.

After graduation, Zhang worked at several law firms but continued volunteering at museums in his spare time.

In 2008, as more museums began offering free entry to the public, Zhang embraced an increasing number of audiences.

Sensing the rising popularity of museums, Zhang founded a cultural business in 2014 offering online classes and "study tours" revolving around museums, particularly small and medium-sized ones.

In 2017, he rolled out the Museums in the Ear program, which aims to recommend lesser-known museums and give professional instructions for touring them.

Children can listen to online audio courses in their spare time, while eating breakfast, brushing their teeth or on their way to school, Zhang says.

His contribution to public education has won him multiple awards, including the Beijing May Fourth Youth Medal, the city's highest award for outstanding young workers.

About 80 percent of more than 6,800 museums across the country are receiving fewer than 100,000 tourists a year, Zhang notes.

"If major institutions like the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China and the Capital Museum are considered the main arteries of the cultural and museum system, then these smaller, medium-sized museums are like capillaries — they have a natural connection with their audiences," Zhang says.