In March, an important archaeological discovery at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province caused a sensation throughout the country. The media that has been silent for a long time has been shouting: the mysterious Sanxingdui site has triggered a mass "archaeological tourism fever". In the face of the sweeping "archaeological tourism fever", how should museums and cultural tourism departments respond?
It is said that the new archaeological discoveries are first of all the excitement of archaeologists, because through their hard work, new evidence of the evolution of historical civilizations has been discovered, and some may rewrite the existing history, at the same time, some archaeologists and researchers will also be excited, because the new cultural relics will provide more research space. As for tourists, especially mass tourists, the vast majority of them are watching the liveliness, and the rush to "punch the clock" is mostly driven by curiosity and wants to see it first. Such a "heat" will make visitors to the museum concerned rub shoulders, but it may not be an effective tourism marketing, and its effect may not be what the host and guests really hope.
Cultural relics and archaeology is a professional field, viewing cultural relics and observing archaeology, although many people will find it interesting, but there is no certain professional knowledge, really to the scene, wrapped in the crowd to look at a few eyes, grab a few photos and send them to the circle of friends, soon may be forgotten.
China is a world-famous ancient civilization, and the stock of cultural relics and the frequency of new archaeological discoveries are more than in many countries in the world. However, whether in the past or today, the general public's interest in understanding the cultural heritage of the country and participating in archaeological activities is not high, on the one hand, there are too many treasures in our country; on the other hand, our knowledge of cultural relics and archaeology and basic education are weak, which is reflected in the cultural quality of the people and the positioning of the functions of public cultural institutions such as museums. In addition to the professionalism of cultural relics and archaeological activities, in the face of the rising mass tourism, there are three issues that need to be seriously considered, and we may as well learn from good cases abroad.
One is that artifacts and archaeological activities require good interpretation. I have visited the British Museum in London three times, but when I visited there, my first impression was that there were a lot of children there, primary school students, middle school students, some were led by teachers, some were accompanied by parents, the children were not running around in the huge museum, but concentrated in a museum or exhibition room to listen to the lecture, they used a paintbrush to draw out what they saw, or used a pen to write down what they understood, and asked questions around the teacher from time to time; another impression was that many audiences there came to visit with books. Some with a guided guide, some with a monograph on history or artifacts... Apparently, the visitors came with questions, they would stay in a museum for a long time, and it seemed that some people were not visiting for the first time. There is also a scene that is different from our museum, it is almost impossible to see a beautiful tour guide girl holding a microphone to take tourists to visit, but there are many volunteers with docent logos, many of them are teachers, professors or doctors, and the museum has lecture rooms of different sizes, with speakers and speech topics posted outside, and visitors can make reservations to listen to special lectures and participate in discussions.
The second is that historic sites and museums should create opportunities for visitors to experience. Modern people are generally unfamiliar with history, and a general visit may have some impressions of specific cultural relics, but the process of personal experience will make a deeper impression. When I visited the Pyramids of Egypt in 2002, I found a visit that allowed me to drill into the pyramids. For more than an hour, in the narrow and dim stone cave, the slippery steps climbed upwards, in some places you had to hold the railing with your hands, and in other places you had to crawl with your hands and feet on the ground... In the gap between breaths, I will close my eyes and meditate on the hardships of digging this passage thousands of years ago, and what kind of ideas, wisdom and perseverance can be used to complete such a project. In fact, it was hard to get to the top of the pyramid, just a small stone room, except for a stone platform, there was nothing, and the real cultural relics had long been displayed in the museum. However, I did not feel any loss or regret about the choice to drill holes at that time, and that unique experience gave me a different feeling about the Chinese of the museum.
The third is that for mass tourists, the cultural relics department should also make more efforts to expand social awareness and form a wide range of attractions. For artifacts or museums, mass travelers crave an "encyclopedia" rather than a "professional dictionary." In 2015, I visited the Bill Reid Northwest Coast Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver, where the history and flair of Canada's Aboriginal Haida people are introduced in sculptural artwork. Unexpectedly, in western Canada, superb Haida art can not only be seen in museums, but also displayed in many public places, such as airports, bookstores, and large shopping malls, and Haida art has also become a variety of daily necessities, from precious jewelry, bags and clothing, to daily teacups, key chains and refrigerator stickers, so that more people can understand and appreciate this special culture, and spread to all over the world. From the perspective of tourism, this is the real advantage of historical relics, art and culture to the extreme, Haida and Haida art have gradually been included in many guided tours, becoming a journey that visitors to Canada cannot miss.
Judging from these examples, the development of tourism in cultural relics museums in public cultural facilities should be considered in the long run, and their content and knowledge should be publicized through various channels, so that interested people can be prepared to taste cultural relics and increase knowledge in museums. In fact, the integration of culture and tourism is not as deep and complex as some academic papers say, and efforts to put on the actual needs of the public will certainly produce good social effects.