Managerial Transformation in Chinese Museums: The Shaanxi History Museum in Xi’An
Museum Management and Curatorship, Vol. 22, No. 2, 151-182, June 2007
Posted: 19 Apr 2010
Date Written: 2007
Abstract
This article focuses on change processes taking place in one important Chinese museum, the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi’an. It is based on field research from 2002, conducted within the ‘Strengthening the Shaanxi History Museum’ project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of Cooperation and Development. Important change processes emerge from the analysis, such as sustained economic development; new trends of tourism (and cultural tourism in particular), with an increase in both domestic and international tourist flows. More interesting from an organizational point of view, a decisive recovery of professional curatorship values seems to have emerged in recent years, within a more general process of administrative reforms of individual organizations. Some of the contradictions characterizing these processes are also investigated.
Keywords: Chinese museums, Organizational change processes, Museum management, Public sector transformation, Globalization
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation