On May 16, ahead of the 50th International Museum Day, Jining's Main Venue Celebrations for the 2026 International Museum Day and the Museum Development Conference were held in Zoucheng, Jining, east China's Shandong Province. Centered on the theme "Museums: Uniting a Divided World", the event sought to empower high-quality development through cultural heritage and museums.

At the Museum Development Conference, several outstanding museums and cultural institutions shared their experience and best practices. The Zoucheng Bureau of Culture and Tourism introduced its approach to integrating high-quality resources and promoting the development of museum clusters. Yanzhou Museum shared its innovative practices in capacity building, cultural and creative product development, and new business cultivation. The Yanzhou Mining Area Railway Museum shared its distinctive path of exploring the value of industrial heritage and building an industry-themed museum. Meanwhile, Liangshan Folk Museum presented its development model for fostering the high-quality development of non-state-owned museums.

Representatives from outstanding cultural institutions shared their experience at the Museum Development Conference.

Photo by Chen Kai

Featured exhibitions have been launched by several museums and cultural institutions during the event. The Yanzhou Mining Area Railway Museum presented nine permanent exhibitions and four temporary exhibitions, including the Steam Locomotive Exhibition, Diesel Locomotive Exhibition, Exhibition on China's Locomotive Development History, and China's Railways History Exhibition. All of them showed the contemporary value of protecting and utilizing industrial cultural heritage. Meanwhile, Zoucheng Museum, Yishan Town Rural Memory Museum, and Heyi Folk Culture Museum launched featured cultural relic exhibitions, drawing many visitors to stop and appreciate the displays.

This event featured rich content and a wide range of highlights, fully showcasing the remarkable achievements of Jining's cultural heritage sector in upholding traditions while fostering innovation.