Where is the trend of academic research fever? It's difficult to grab tickets, chaotic explanations, and interference with others: when museums say they don't have cultural heritage, venues, and museums
At 5:50 pm on Friday, the heat was still lingering. In the passage with a pergola set up at the entrance of the Shanghai Museum, there are already spectators queuing up to enter the nightclub, many with children. "A week ago, as soon as the reserved seats were released, I snatched them," sighed Mr. Hu, who was queuing up. During the summer vacation, the cultural and museum venues were "just as hot as the weather.".
Entering summer vacation, the popularity of major cultural and museum venues is soaring, and various cultural and museum venues such as "ticket booking", "boutique explanations", and "private group tours" are thriving on social media. While this emerging paid program has made some parents feel relieved, it has also made some tourists feel unfair.
On July 16th, the National Museum of China officially implemented new regulations: Without the permission of the museum, no unit or individual is allowed to carry out explanatory activities inside the museum. The latest appointment notice for Shanghai Museum also has such regulations, and multiple museums in Shandong, Henan, Liaoning, Guangdong and other places have also introduced similar management measures.
How can we balance the urgent market demand on one hand and the fairness and public welfare that public cultural resources must adhere to?
Make "appointments" a way of life
"Since so many people have a demand, why not increase the appointment quota?" "The epidemic has passed, why do we have to make an appointment?" On social media platforms, there are constantly people questioning the commonly adopted appointment visit model for popular cultural and museum venues.
"Given a certain level of public cultural resources, it is necessary to balance multiple factors such as the number of visitors, visiting order, and venue safety." According to industry insiders, in 2015, the former National Tourism Administration issued the "Guidelines for Determining the Maximum Carrying Capacity of Scenic Spots", which required major scenic spots to calculate the maximum carrying capacity of tourists and promote ticket reservation and pre-sale. "The protection of natural resources and the opening up of tourism development need to be balanced, and cultural and museum venues also face such problems." In their view, if audiences flock infinitely, not only are cultural relics at risk, but there is also no guarantee of visiting order and quality. The newly implemented "Appointment Notice" by Guobo clearly stipulates the strict implementation of "limited quantity, appointment, and staggered" measures, requiring all staff to make free real name appointments for visits.
The current daily admission quota for Shanghai Museum is 10000 visitors, divided into seven time slots for reservation. The staff of Shangbo once analyzed the data of past exhibitions and found that there were more visitors in the middle and less visitors in the middle. "By making appointments, the number of visitors at different time periods can be relatively balanced, and the exhibition efficiency and quality of visits can be guaranteed."
Although the next few days have already been fully booked, it is possible that the amount released on the Weibo account may be reached on the same day
On Friday, Zhou Zhaodian, who is engaged in legal work, opened an appointment column on the official account of WeChat, and found that the next six days were full, but he could still make an appointment that day. Originally, in a data comparison, Shangbo found that although 10000 people make appointments every day, the actual attendance is about 7000 people - which means that over 20% of the visiting spots may be wasted.
All the reserved spots that did not arrive on time will be dynamically released on the same day of the Weibo. On Wusheng Road outside the south gate of Shangbo, tourists from other places often stop and swipe their phones, waiting for a spot to visit. "We will ask them 'Do you want tickets?' At first, some people thought we were ticket dealers. The staff of the online museum will remind these visitors who come to the museum in admiration to seize the 'second chance': 'We hope that through our more detailed management, we will not waste every visiting spot.'"
In the latest visit reminder, Shangbo also calls on visitors who are unable to visit on schedule to cancel their reservation two hours in advance. Failure to cancel according to regulations will be considered as a breach of contract, and accounts that fail to make appointments twice will have their appointment eligibility frozen for 30 days. "Many popular restaurants now require advance reservations. How can popular exhibitions and venues not be reserved?" In Zhou Zhao's view, this regulation mainly reminds audiences to value contracts and public interests. "Appointment should become a way of life. Free is not an exemption, everyone has the responsibility to maintain public resources."
Free ≠ zero threshold
Entering the Shanghai Museum, you can see teenagers everywhere.
"Museums are the window to learn about a city," said Ms. Tong, who came to Shanghai with her daughter from Hubei for tourism. After the epidemic, everyone hopes to go out for a walk. A large museum with precious cultural relics cannot be missed, as many city museums also record urban changes and cultural habits, allowing for a quick understanding of a city.
Mr. Lu, a parent with three children, summarized to the reporter the reasons for choosing a museum for summer vacation: free, safe, air-conditioned, and high-end - "to some extent, you can learn something.". On social media platforms, some even consider cultural and museum venues as a "good place to take a stroll with children during the summer vacation.".
In the eyes of industry insiders, museums should not be a zero threshold "place to walk children". "Parents should be prepared to a certain extent. If they only come to blow on the air conditioning, it is also a waste of resources. For example, the above Expo has a permanent exhibition of 8 lectures a day, and the special exhibition is equipped with social art education classes and special lectures. During the summer vacation, there are also art education workshops for students. Relevant video materials can be obtained on the website." If you have the intention, these resources are not difficult to obtain. "
Shanghai Museum provides various types of interpretation services
At the "Empirical China: Archaeological Exhibition of Liangzhu Civilization in Songze", a father asked his child to search for the commonalities of pottery: "These pottery pieces are basically three legged." He said to the child, "There is an idiom called 'three legged tripod standing', but the tripod is a bronze piece. I saw the tripod in the Bronze Museum just now. Is it usually circular with three legs or square with four legs? Mathematically, three points determine a surface, and we ancient people also found that three legs are necessary to stand firm in our daily lives."
The father surnamed Chen told reporters that he is actually an outsider in the field of cultural and cultural heritage, but before bringing his children here, he did some homework. "It's about learning for himself, but also telling the children what he can understand. Otherwise, it's just watching the excitement."
However, not all parents are like Mr. Chen, they prefer someone to learn for them. Under the huge market demand, various "research and learning camps" and "private enjoyment groups" have emerged.
Open social media and search for keywords such as "museum" and "academic research" to find a lot of information. An account with a username containing "museum" and a brief introduction of "museum education" can create buzz, such as "what kind of work do parents who are willing to take their children to museums do?" It may also seem like discussing "is it suitable for children to enter museums when they are so young?". But at the bottom of its post, there will be information like "4 teachers with 15 children", and someone will ask "how to schedule" in the comment section. The user will mysteriously answer one word: "private".
Information on "Research and Learning" accounts on social media
Some people use cultural relics science popularization as a "prelude" to publish multiple photos of museums, introducing basic information such as the age of several cultural relics, and then turn the conversation to "museums are three parts to see and seven parts to talk", introducing their educational background and major, which also makes people privately message "learn more". Even under some museum accounts, there are scenes of "one song, one reconciliation" in the comment section: first, some people complained that they couldn't understand the exhibition, while others replied and recommended that "a certain teacher" spoke very well and posted his social media account.
These active "research and learning" accounts are all charged. The "Private Enjoyment Group" launched by someone in the Forbidden City is priced at 1000 yuan per session. Mr. Zhai, who is engaged in curation work, once saw on social media that Shanghai Bo was holding an exhibition on "Yuchu Liufang: Shanghai Museum's Collection of Song and Yuan Ancient Books" for a fee of 200 yuan per exhibition. The other party said, "I have to memorize a lot of things for this exhibition."
Should we open up market explanations?
However, many cultural and museum venues, including the National Museum, have said "no" to activities such as in museum lectures and teaching that are not authorized by the museum.
"Once commercial lectures are released, public cultural resources will inevitably be violated." Industry insiders emphasize that driven by interests, commercial lectures can easily affect other audiences. "We need to ensure that the audience entering the museum is relatively fair."
Mr. Hu once encountered a situation where, while visiting an exhibition with his friends, a team leader, an instructor, and a private tutor gathered around the exhibits he was looking at with over twenty students wearing the same uniform. The leader asked them to give up their seats and said, "Can't you give up on the children?" Later, when they encountered this team again, the leader even pulled away his friend directly.
Cultural and museum enthusiast Ye Min remembers the scene a few years ago when a constant stream of tour guides came to visit famous overseas museums. She is worried that once commercial explanations are relaxed, the fee collectors will arrange for people to occupy seats in advance, just like in popular attractions and amusement parks. On the internet, many netizens share similar experiences and are even more concerned that once commercial services are allowed, "individual customers still want to compete with institutions for tickets?"
High priced explanation services on trading platforms
At present, the volunteer explanation team of domestic museums requires professional training and assessment. Some professionals are concerned that private guides may include "private goods" in their explanations, mix personal opinions, and even treat rumors as history. Mr. Zhai once heard someone add the owner's "gossip" when introducing exhibits. He pointed out that this rumor is not credible, but the other party said "it just adds a bit of fun".
The museum is concerned that private tutoring may damage the brand's reputation. Previously, Ms. Zeng, a citizen, saw information about a popular venue's "private group" and sent out photos with not many people. She spent money to register her child. Later, she discovered that the service and display were different, and only after making a phone complaint did she realize that the "private group" had nothing to do with the venue. Coincidentally, some people previously claimed to be a "volunteer commentator" for online forums, but after verification by online forums, it was found that this person was not an online commentator, and online forums did not authorize any third party to provide for-profit commenting services.
The reporter's visit found that such "study camps" and "private tour groups" have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, stemming from the increasing personalized demand of audiences for museum lectures. Previously, when Ye Min visited an exhibition in China that she was very interested in, the pre recorded voice guided tours could not meet her needs, as she had previously taken art history courses. "I had some questions about some details, but the guides couldn't answer them, and there was no interaction." Later, she saw some privately directed content and videos on social media platforms, "at least from the perspective of the created character design, they were very attractive." She suggested that cultural and museum venues could launch multiple sets of commentary guides according to the different needs of the audience. "For example, for those who have limited knowledge of history, they should focus on stories, while those with certain professional accumulation can expand on details."
Explanation from the perspective of testing the rich collection of the Louvre
Mr. Zhai suggests further improving the quality of guidance at cultural and museum venues. Previously, he visited the Louvre and although the tour guide only introduced a few important collections, he outlined the outline of Western art history through rich background knowledge. On the other hand, in some domestic exhibitions, there is a detailed introduction to the "hardware" such as exhibition materials and sizes, but there is a lack of macro background introduction. "After watching the exhibition, I have a feeling of being blinded by a single leaf."
However, major museums have not completely closed off socialized lectures. Taking the National Museum as an example, the new regulations stipulate that "units that conduct explanatory activities in the museum due to work needs must submit an application 5 days in advance, reporting materials such as explanatory content, explanatory personnel, activity process, safety responsibilities, etc."
In the eyes of some industry insiders engaged in tourism project development, it is certainly good to "ride" the traffic of large museums and popular exhibitions, but there are still many cultural and museum resources that can be further developed. Some smaller cultural and museum venues have a stronger willingness to cooperate, and "there is still a lot of space for in-depth development and study tours." On social media platforms, there are also young people majoring in cultural and history who record their feelings of visiting exhibitions, make short videos to express their opinions, and even design cultural and creative products. They communicate with colleagues, "If the influence increases, it is not impossible to cooperate with museums." Many viewers hope that all parties should work together to make the "cultural and museum fever" and "study fever" continue to be hot and deep.
