According to Dong, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, a total of 1,804 museums have been opened to the public free of charge since January 2008. Over the past five years, the Central Government has allocated 11.2 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) to subsidize the free admission museums."

Offering free entry to museums has enhanced their effective function of serving public culture and promoted their reform and development. However, there are also shortcomings in three aspects, said Dong.

First, free admission museums have not yet been included in the Central Government's financial subsidies. In addition to the 1,804 abovementioned museums, there are also 700 more that have independently chosen to offer free admission, and this number is increasing.

Most of the museums offering free admission are private or established by cultural departments in 2008 or later, explained Dong. Museums featuring industrial exhibits are frequently open to the public free of charge as well. But they don't enjoy the state financial subsidies.

Second, the level of museums' exhibitions needs to be improved. Statistics from 2008 to 2011 show that the aggregate of 33,452 temporary exhibitions were held by 1,804 free admission museums, an annual average of 4.64 exhibitions each. In particular, the number of exhibitions annually held by provincial-level museums or above reached 13.09.

"However, funding shortages seriously restrained the quality of temporary exhibitions," said Dong, adding that cultural relic exhibitions only accounted for 19.4 percent of those focusing on photography, painting and calligraphy.

Third, the rigid administrative pattern of museums has restricted their social functions. Dong stressed that museums' legal entity needs to be perfected.

Problems such as institutional restructuring, administrative management and over-reliance on financial allocation seriously impeded their role in decision making and supervision of museums. In addition, irrational personnel structures and personnel shortages make it difficult to meet the needs of free admission museums.

Dong suggested that the Ministry of Finance together with other related departments adopt the following three measures to better protect free admission museums.

First, bring the state-owned museums that are up to free admission and qualified private museums into the state-supported free admission category.

Second, increase special funds to subsidize temporary exhibitions to help local museums with important exchanges between museums and cultural relic exhibitions, and give priority to central and western regions as well as city- and county-level museums.

Third, formulate Management Measures on Special Funds for Free Admission Museums and enhance supervision on the use of special funds.

(Source: Guangming Daily)