The world's first on-site museum within an -airport was unveiled at the T5 terminal at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Photo: VCG
On its official opening day on Wednesday, the Western Airport Museum in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province - the world's first on-site cultural heritage museum housed in an airport - welcomed thousands of visitors. The visitor traffic amazed staff members at the museum, who were busy maintaining order and guiding visitors on the spot without a moment's pause.
Chen Yao, the project leader of the museum, told the Global Times on Wednesday that all available time slots for visits over the next three days have been fully booked.
"A portion of the visitors to the museum are tourists arriving in the airport and others are those who came specially for the museum," said Chen, adding that she also saw some foreign visitors on site, including a Romanian student studying in Xi'an, who was stunned by the architecture and exhibits at the museum.
"The museum is interesting and creative. There are many exhibits worth of visiting, including terracotta figurines of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. I am willing to visit the museum again next time I come to the airport," said an internet user named "Danjianglidexiaohujiang," who just visited the museum on the opening day, on social media platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote.
Covering a total area of 6,400 square meters and featuring an architectural style that mimics the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the museum is located in the core area of Terminal 5 at the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. The museum focuses on showcasing artifacts uncovered during archaeological excavations that took place during the construction of the airport. It aims to fully demonstrate the processes of cultural relic protection and archaeological excavation during the airport's development, as well as to highlight Xi'an's significance as the starting point of the Silk Road and the grandeur of the ancient city.
The museum features a permanent exhibition as well as a temporary exhibition area that hosts various themed exhibitions on an irregular basis, along with a cultural creativity exhibition that incorporates traditional cultural elements and offers visitors the opportunity to get stamps for their visit.
Covering an area of 400 square meters, the main hall of the permanent exhibition is called the Square Pavilion. Around 120 cultural relics on display in the hall are being exhibited for the first time.
Among the hundreds of exhibits is the star exhibit, the national first-class cultural relic known as "Qin Duke Bo," a large percussion instrument from the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC). Inscribed with 135 characters, it represents a stirring "history of the Qin people's founding endeavors."
According to Chen, the concept of establishing a museum at the airport went through an exploration process that went from idea to implementation. In February 2021, the news about the "Xi'an airport construction site suddenly turning into an archaeological site" attracted significant attention, with many people expressing their desire for an on-site museum. Chen and her team took this feedback into consideration as part of the research project, and after four years of dedicated work, they finally established a display of unearthed artifacts within the airport for travelers to enjoy.
To ensure the safety of the artifacts showcased at the airport, Chen's team invited experts to develop a multi-tiered protection plan.
"For instance, combining with the airport's semi-enclosed environment and real-name reservation system, the museum's exterior is also equipped with blast-proof facilities and infrared devices. Additionally, independent display cases are fitted with temperature and humidity monitoring instruments, and we have established a regular exhibition mechanism in collaboration with the provincial archaeological institute," noted Chen.
Modern airports are no longer just places for airplanes to take off, land or park, nor are they merely entry and exit points for travelers. They have evolved into comprehensive tourism consumption environments and new cultural spaces. Chen Lüsheng, a renowned museologist and curator of the Museum of University of Science and Technology of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday, adding that the diverse murals at the Beijing Capital International Airport, such as one about the Water-sprinkling Festival, impressed him the most.
He pointed out that airports are not purely cultural institutions but rather are primarily public service entities. Now, these service entities can utilize culture to enhance their cultural content, allowing people to immerse themselves and experience the charm of culture. Travelers can now encounter artifacts that they may not see in traditional museums, which showcases the uniqueness of the displays in an airport museum.
In the future, the museum will continuously improve its exhibition design and incorporate advanced technologies, such as AR artifact displays, digital humans, and virtual reality, to create immersive digital experiences of Chang'an (the ancient name for Xi'an) and "recreate" this ancient capital for on-site visitors.
