On the occasion of International Museum Day, which falls on May 18, Shandong province held the 2023 "International Museum Day" main event at the Shandong Museum in Jinan. 

The event aimed to create a key platform for communication between museums and the public, boost sustainable development, as well as enrich people's lives. The opening ceremony of Ever-Changing Shandong — Exhibition of Shandong History and Culture also kicked off during the event.

Cultural tourism departments and museums at all levels launched more than 270 activities on social education, as well as 120 public welfare events. They also bolstered tourism consumption through more than 160 product exhibitions and museum studies.

Wang Lei, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, noted in her speech that Shandong has made big progress in advancing the museum industry in recent years in terms of construction, cultural relic protection, exhibitions, education, as well as communication and cultural exchanges.  

During the event, the province announced the fifth edition of its "Top 10 Social Education Cases of Museums in Shandong" list.

Small and medium-sized museums are an important part of the museum system in Shandong. The Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism will implement a three-year action plan for large State-owned museums to provide one-to-one targeted support for small and medium-sized museums in such aspects as collection management, exhibitions, social education, research and development of cultural and creative products, as well as talent cultivation. Currently, there are 170 museums that have carried out this pairing support.

The Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has utilized the province's cultural relics resources, inherited excellent traditional Chinese culture, and launched a large number of high-quality exhibitions over the years. During the event, 10 special boutique exhibitions were unveiled. 

The Ever-Changing Shandong — Exhibition of Shandong History and Culture is one of the key projects in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for the development of cultural relics in Shandong. 

The exhibition covers 5,000 square meters, displaying more than 2,000 cultural relics. It is divided into five parts: Prehistoric Period; the Shang and Zhou Dynasties; the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties; the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties; as well as Modern and Contemporary Periods, highlighting the charm of Qilu culture and reflecting the latest academic results.