China is putting its museum exhibitions online due to the coronavirus outbreak

Amid quarantines and various restrictions and preventative actions to cease the spread of coronavirus, Chinese travellers are unable to visit the country’s museums.

Across the country, museums have had no choice but to close their doors temporarily as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

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Instead, as a partial fix, museums are bringing themselves to the masses by way of the internet.

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) requested that museums make themselves available via social media and provide services digitally for the time being.

In a statement released in January, the NCHA says sought to “encourage cultural relic museum institutions in various places to carry out online exhibitions based on local conditions.”

Exhibition of the Nanjing Massacre

In response, many institutions have virtually opened their doors and provided digital access to their galleries.

The NCHA has also been issuing multiple releases summarizing the growing list of museums allowing online access to their various exhibitions. 

In a Chinese statement released on February 2, the NCHA explained:

“Recently, under the deployment of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, museums across the country, while doing a good job in preventing and controlling the outbreak of new coronavirus-infected pneumonia, have launched a number of exciting online exhibitions using existing digital resources, and combined social forces to innovate communication methods to provide public safety.”

The Palace Museum, Beijing

The statement continues that the online services are adhering to the call of the Party Central Committee and State Council to “win the battle against epidemic prevention and control.”

Examples of exhibitions available online include the Exhibition of the Nanjing Massacre as well as The Palace Museum in Beijing.

According to a Situation Report published by the World Health Organization on Thursday, 3,697 new cases have been detected in China, with 73 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 564.