Chongqing - Du Xinyan, a social education volunteer from Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, opened her notebook and read the takeaways from President Xi Jinping's report. On Oct 16, Xi called for building cultural confidence and strength and securing new successes in developing socialist culture. To create a modern socialist country in all respects, we must develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and be more confident in our culture.

"Chongqing's museums are getting a new lease of life," said Du, who has served as a volunteer at the museum for eight years. She added, "Chongqing's museums attempt to combine education with entertainment, enriching the cultural life of citizens with colorful activities."

Gaining insight into cultural relics

The Three Gorges Museum sets up a diversity of volunteer posts for lectures, inspection, and other functions with more than 200 active volunteers.

Peng Bo is one museum guide volunteer at Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. Since becoming a volunteer, this man has guided the audience for nearly 80% of the temporary exhibitions, which often last four hours. His annual service time was even as high as 600 hours.

Peng Bo, a volunteer guide, explained to the audience in the "Bashu Han Dynasty Sculpture Art" exhibition hall of the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum on Oct 18. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

"People come to the museum, stay for half an hour and leave with a set of photos," said Peng Bo. He once thought cultural relics kept a distance from modern people. But after visiting the Three Gorges museum in 2016, he also wanted to be the person who made the museum come alive.

A year later, Peng Bo achieved his wish and became a volunteer on duty. According to his observation, more viewers appreciate the exhibition with higher quality, not a fleeting glance. And quite a few visitors will go for the guide and wait for the professional explanation.

Enriching social education activities

"The museum becomes a must-see attraction for citizens on vacation, especially during the Spring Festival," said a social education volunteer named Deng Fengjuan.  "The New Year paintings and dough modeling are the most popular activities in the museum," she added. These volunteers also bring mobile exhibitions and social education activities to local communities and schools.

Social education volunteer Deng Fengjuan guides the audience to participate in social education activities. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Du also motivated her daughter to join in this volunteer work. "Luckily, my daughter is the first little lecturer of the Three Gorges museum. She joined its educational activities at an early age and viewed the museum as a treasure house full of humanistic knowledge," said Du Xinyan.

Embracing the energetic future

Currently, a unique exhibition is on display at the Three Gorges Museum. By scanning the QR code, the audience can enjoy an online concert played by the Guqin with a three-dimensional image. Perhaps you still remember last year, when the Three Gorges Cultural Relics Science and Technology Protection Base opened to the public, tourists could watch the restoration process of cultural relics through transparent glass or screens.

Our country will thrive only if our culture thrives, and our nation will be strong only if our culture is strong. And volunteers look forward to developing museums with higher-quality exhibitions, more imaginative activities, and advanced digital technology.

Social education volunteer Du Xinyan guides the student to experience wood print. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

(Chen Lu, as an intern, also contributed to the report.)