Tourists enjoy Chinese lanterns in front of the Shenyang Palace Museum in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Jan. 15, 2023. As the Year of the Rabbit approaches, various colourful Chinese lanterns appeared at the core area of the ancient city of Shenyang, attracting many citizens and tourists here to enjoy lively Spring Festival atmosphere.(Photo: Xinhua)

Hongshan Culture Research Institute will be officially established at the main venue of the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day -- Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Over 7,300 cultural events are set to be held across China for the day's celebration on June 8, officials from the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) said at a press conference on Thursday. 

Jin Ruiguo, an official from NCHA, highlighted the thriving museum sector in China at the press conference. By 2023, the number of registered museums nationwide had reached 6,833, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

According to Jin, themed with "protecting cultural relics, inheriting civilization," the main city activities will focus on thematic promotions and exhibitions. Jointly organized by the NCHA and the Liaoning Provincial Government, the exhibition themed with Chinese Civilization and Hongshan culture, China's most well-known Neolithic culture which dates back 5,000 to 6,500 years, is scheduled to open on the day.

Forums including the fourth Cultural Relics Technology Innovation Forum and the latest development of the joint archaeological projects between China and many other countries will also be held.

Additionally, the first issue of magazine Chinese Cultural Relics published by Cultural Relics Press, the lists of high-quality development cases in the cultural relics sector for 2023 and the sixth batch of "Most Beautiful Cultural Relics Guardians" will be released on the day.

The People's Bank of China will also issue a set of commemorative coins themed around the early Chinese civilizations of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties (c.2070BC-256BC).

Liu Weicai, director of the Liaoning Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, told the Global Times that this is the first time that the main venue of Cultural and Natural Heritage Day is set in Northeast China, and it holds a great significance as Northeast China is the birthplace of Hongshan culture as well as an important revolutionary base.

Liaoning Province plans to launch nearly 300 public benefit cultural events and to establish the Hongshan Culture Research Institute, he said.

During the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, under the guidance of the NCHA, over 7,300 events will be organized by cultural and museum units across the country, including more than 3,400 public benefit services related to cultural relics. 

For instance, the Hunan Museum in Central China's Hunan Province will hold immersive digital exhibitions themed with the Mawangdui Tombs of the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).

In Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the local cultural heritage administration will host a photo exhibition for celebrating the 10th anniversary of the successful UNESCO listing of Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor.

Local activities will combine the theme with regional characteristics, focusing on public education, benefits for the people, and innovative communication methods to ensure that the achievements in cultural relics protection and utilization are shared by all, according to NCHA.