China Museum Boom: Is museum building growing out of control?

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China has seen exponential growth in museums in recent years, especially private ones leading some to question the true cultural value they offer. Tao Yuan explores the issue.

An exhibit featuring the works of Wei Ligang – a relatively lesser known Chinese contemporary artist.

VALERIE WANG CONGHUI, DIRECTOR ZHI ART MUSEUM "We need to go beyond the market when the market does not realize this is an amazing artist."

Like the art pieces on its walls, the Zhi Art Museum is also waiting for ITS value to be realized. A small, young museum on the outskirts of southwest China's Chengdu City, it's one of a growing number of private museums bursting into the scene in almost every corner of the country.

VALERIE WANG CONGHUI, DIRECTOR ZHI ART MUSEUM "We've come to a time when the people are wealthy enough to collect art. And when you collect you naturally want to share it with the public. It's like you make it from a personal thing to a public thing."

But China is catching up from a humble start.

TAO YUAN "When New China was founded in 1949, the country had only 25 museums. Now, there are several thousand. Some say this points to a prospering cultural sector. Others experts call it a 'museumification', a superficial building boom which might be running away with itself."

Rich collectors simply wanting to display their treasures. Property developers building museums in order to get favorable deals from a government eager to play cultural catch-up. Many new private museums sit empty and neglected, without curation or academic principles.

PENG FENG DEAN OF SCHOOL OF ARTS, PEKING UNIVERSITY "Little emphasis is being paid to collections or exhibitions. What they care about is the space. The space needs to catch eyeballs. That'll help sell real estate property."

The museum boom may be a hit-or-miss proposition. But for all the criticism it's attracted, industry players are still happy to see the new attention on art.

PENG FENG DEAN OF SCHOOL OF ARTS, PEKING UNIVERSITY "It's not altogether bad, because once the hardware is in place, the software will have a space to grow. I think the overall trend is good."

VALERIE WANG CONGHUI, DIRECTOR ZHI ART MUSEUM "Although there are many problems, the fundamental thing is that the more the better at this moment, because you need to find your own way."

Hoping the quantitative change can one day lead to qualitative change. TY, CGTN, Chengdu.