Pilot! Shanghai opens up tour guides with "dual certificates" to enter museums to explain history | Tour guides
On July 16, 2023, Xu Dandan gave a professional lecture to 12 students from a small research group at the Shanghai History Museum.
On that day, the Shanghai Museum of History took the lead in opening group tours to the first batch of tour guides with "dual certificates", effectively supplementing the explanatory power for the summer museum craze.
Not long after the explanation began, a security guard came to inspect the interpreter's credentials.
"Before, every time I went to Libo, I could only talk to tourists for a few words, and then sneakily answer when I dodged the security guard." During the peak summer travel season, major museums have become popular destinations for parent-child travel. The tour guide came to an abrupt end after entering the museum, and Xu Dandan also understood that the museum pays special attention to the professionalism of the explanation. The story behind each cultural relic varies greatly, and a slight exaggeration or lack of rigor can "distort" history. In addition, with a large number of visitors in the museum, excessive noise can also disrupt the quiet atmosphere that visitors should have. So the control of documents in the museum is very strict, and only fixed time explanations can be provided.
However, the number of professional guides in the museum is limited. Apart from some viewers who rent voice guides and VR navigation equipment, more viewers mainly study the exhibition introduction on their own, and there are not many who can enjoy professional guides.
In order to better activate the public cultural service function of the museum, while balancing the management needs of the museum, we provide more standardized and high-level explanation services for citizens and tourists. In January of this year, Zhou Weihong, Deputy General Manager of Spring and Autumn Tourism, a representative of the Municipal People's Congress, submitted a proposal, pointing out that some cultural venues and venues lack sufficient explanatory power. It is suggested to make good use of the high-quality tour guide team of existing travel agencies and supplement the explanatory power. Under the promotion of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the Shanghai Museum of History took the lead in piloting museums to open guided tours to licensed tour guides, which facilitated the itinerary of this first batch of study tours.
Xu Dandan took out pre prepared photos and explained the story behind the exhibits to the audience.
The "dual certificates" are respectively the "tour guide certificate" and the "explanation qualification certificate" issued by the Shanghai Museum of History.
Obtaining a certificate is not easy, and one needs to pass the assessment of a master's degree. A professional interpreter will follow and listen throughout the process, and they will also be picky. In order to obtain evidence, Xu Dandan had conducted a lot of learning before. For several months in a row, as long as he didn't lead a group, he would sneak into the museum, taking notes with a small notebook and silently reciting explanatory words towards the exhibits. In addition to memorizing more than 30000 words of explanatory materials proficiently, I also specifically consulted relevant exhibition materials and organized the derivative history of the exhibits on a portable tablet. "Tourists not only want to know one aspect, but also the second and third aspects. Some exhibits may not have enough detailed visuals, so I want to tell them more vividly. After all, the new market has higher requirements for tour guides, which can also broaden my career."
In addition to Li Bo, Xu Dandan also hopes to visit more museums for lectures.
"In fact, when encountering those who come to listen, I feel the most accomplished and proud in the industry. Someone who spends their own time listening to you proves that you speak well." Xu Dandan's explanation is full of emotion, and not only do the members of the group listen carefully, but there are often many tourists around who listen attentively.