Children follow a talk on the history of shellfish at Shandong Museum. [Photo/dzwww.com]

Shandong will promote the high-quality development of local museums during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), as part of its efforts to become a cultural powerhouse.

The province will promote equal access to basic public cultural services such as museums for rural residents, as well as strengthen the construction of museums at the city, county and township levels.

The move will promote the construction of museums, memorial halls and cultural complexes at the county levels and ensure that each county in the province has a museum. 

The province will begin construction on the Shandong Museum of Natural History and support the development of museum clusters.

It will also promote the construction of key museums in the province, increase the diversity of museums, develop museums focusing on specific topics, and cultivate a number of non-state-owned demonstration museums.

By the end of 2025, the number of museums in the province will reach 1,000, said local officials.